Incarcerated
by Bouncy cat
Summary: Iruka is sent to prison and discovers something about himself. Will be KakaIru yaoi.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Incarcerated

Fandom: Naruto

Pairing: KakaIru

Status: WIP

Notes: AU, Kakashi is back in Anbu in this fic, and the Anbu may be acting a little different than normal.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

Feedback: Please?

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Iruka lay curled up in the soft comfort of his bed. He was in that stage where your thoughts begin to take on a life of their own and start to ignore the laws of logic, but you're lucid enough to know you aren't exactly dreaming just yet.

He felt warm and content, having had a busy but satisfying day. Blissfully he rubbed his face against his warm, clean smelling pillow.

Suddenly he had the uncomfortable feeling that something wasn't quite right. He opened his eyes and had to bite back a yelp at the sight of an Anbu member standing only a few feet away from him.

He sat up abruptly.

Before he could say a word, the man standing next to him addressed him.

"Umino Iruka?"

Iruka nodded uncertainly.

"You have been summoned by the Godaime Hokage. You are to come with us immediately. If you choose to fight we will show no mercy."

Iruka gaped at the man in shock. Frantically he searched his mind, but he couldn't think of a single thing he could have done to warrant an Anbu-escort to the Hokage. That honor was usually reserved for highly dangerous criminals.

"Can I get dressed first?" He asked nervously. He'd gone right to bed after his shower that evening and he hadn't bothered to put on some boxers before he did. They wouldn't make him walk the streets of Konoha naked would they?

The Anbu-member looked past him and Iruka followed his gaze, only then noticing the second man standing near his window, as if to cut of the escape route.

There seemed to be some quiet communication between the two and after a moment the one in front of him nodded. Iruka gathered his blanket around himself and made to stand.

"Leave it." The man said quietly.

Reluctantly Iruka let the blanket drop. Holding his hands in front of himself awkwardly he walked the small distance to where his clothes were laying on his chair.

Somehow the fact that he couldn't see their faces made it all the worse. He probably knew them. Had probably smiled at them and given them scrolls for their new missions when they weren't on Anbu duty. Maybe he even taught their kids.

Quickly he put on his boxers, a shirt and his uniform pants. He reached for his flak jacket, but the Anbu stopped him.

"You won't be needing that."

Iruka wondered what he meant. Would he be back here soon?

His cat chose that moment to walk into his room. The large orange tabby jumped up on the chair and butted his head against Iruka's leg. Iruka automatically reached out to pet him, needing the comfort of it more than the cat did, but one of the men behind him made an impatient sound and Iruka pulled back quickly.

When he'd toed on his slippers, the first Anbu turned to the door.

"Follow. If you try anything you won't be alive to regret it."

Sure, Iruka thought, like he was going to do anything against these men. He wasn't stupid.

As they walked towards the Hokage's tower Iruka again tried to think of an explanation of some sort. Nothing came to mind. He knew better than to ask the Anbu, men like these did not explain their actions.

Iruka shivered slightly in the cold night air. One of the Anbu looked at him, but it was impossible to read what the man was thinking. His eyes gave away nothing. Maybe it was pity. Maybe it was scorn. He would never know.

Iruka was thankful for the warmth when they finally entered the Hokage building, but some part of him wanted to run back out again and avoid the confrontation he knew was coming. He tried to give himself some courage; he hadn't done anything after all. His conscience was clear. But…what if he'd made some horrible mistake during his work at the mission desk? What if he'd given someone the wrong information? What if he'd gotten someone killed? The thought chilled him to the bone.

Too soon they reached Tsunade's office. They were immediately let inside.

Iruka felt his stomach drop as he looked at Tsunade. Never since he'd met her had she looked at him this coldly.

"Umino." She addressed him. "Where were you yesterday night from 10 pm to 4 am?"

Yesterday? Iruka thought about it. 10 pm to 4 am? He'd been- "Home"

"Is there anyone who can confirm this?"

He thought about it. "Not really. Hokage-sama, what is this all about?"

"Umino Iruka, you stand accused of the murder of Kobayashi Masakazu, a high ranking visiting official of the sand country."

Iruka gaped at her. "Why the hell would I want to do that! I don't even know the man."

He took a step towards her and immediately a mind numbing pain shot through his limbs and he fell to his knees biting his bottom lip to keep from screaming.

At a sign from the Hokage the Anbu behind him removed his fingers from the pressure point in his neck and moved away from him.

Iruka stayed on his knees a few moments, looking at the ground, trying to blink away the tears that had sprung into his eyes at the intense pain. Finally he stiffly pushed himself up and stood up straight again.

The Hokage resumed talking as if nothing had happened.

"Your hitai-ate was found in the bushes outside of the murdered mans window. Ton-ton recognized your scent and Pakkun confirmed it. There were fresh blood stains on it."

"But-"

"A hair that matches your hair color and length was found inside the apartment and there is a witness that saw someone of your stature fleeing away from the scene. The room reeked of you, Iruka-san. Ton-ton is absolutely sure of it."

"I didn't do it, I swear Tsunade-sama." He said desperately. How could this be happening? He'd never been anywhere near that man. How had his hitai-ate ended up there? He'd had it when he came home yesterday evening, he was sure of it. Today had been his day off, so he hadn't worn it. "Maybe someone stole my hitai-ate to incriminate me…" It sounded unbelievable even to himself.

"There will of course be a full investigation, and all possible scenarios will be considered. You will remain in custody, until the investigation is concluded."

She turned to the Anbu members that were still waiting behind him. "Take him away."

Too shocked to protest anymore Iruka dazedly followed their orders, letting himself be guided to Konoha's high security facility. He'd been there many times before, but never had he thought to end up on the other side of the bars. Finally he ended up dressed in a set of faded gray prison clothes, sitting on a cot in an otherwise bare cell.

Emotionally exhausted and still hurting from the Anbu's painful hold, he finally curled up and tried to sleep. Maybe things wouldn't seem so desperate in the morning.

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Late at night in the Hokage tower, two figures were standing at a window, looking out over the village.

"You know his reputation will be ruined if you leave him in there."

"Yes, Kakashi-san. I know."

"It's the only way."

Tsunade didn't know whether he was trying to convince her or himself.

If they wanted to know who the real killer was they needed him to believe that they had fallen for his ploy. They had found nothing in the murdered mans apartment besides the incriminating evidence against Iruka, nothing that could give them any clue as to who was really behind it. They needed the killer to make another move.

"Will you tell him?"

"He has a right to know."

"That wasn't what I asked."

She shook her head. "You'll tell him. It won't look too strange for you to interrogate him. You can also ask him if there is anyone with a grudge against him."

Kakashi shook his head. "This goes beyond a personal grudge. I think he's just a pawn in a much bigger scheme."

She was inclined to agree with him but they couldn't be sure of anything.

"What do I do about Naruto?"

She winced. If the young man found out that Iruka was in prison, he'd freak out. He needed to know about their plan so he wouldn't mess it up by loudly proclaiming to anyone within hearing distance that Iruka was innocent.

"Tell him about it."

Kakashi nodded and then turned to leave. "Goodnight"

She waved slightly and then grabbed for the little sake bottle she carried with her. She took a healthy swig and sighed. Why did life have to be so complicated?


	2. Chapter 2

Iruka woke up stiff, sore and confused. His first thought was that he'd been caught by enemy ninja, but all too quickly his memories returned to him. How could anyone think that he'd murdered that man? He would never endanger his village like that! If it wasn't for Naruto's close ties to Gaara this murder might have led to war. As if they hadn't had enough of that in the few last years.

What was he going to do? The Third would never have believed that Iruka was guilty, the man knew him far too well for that, but Iruka's relationship with Tsunade had never been as close. How would he convince her? The evidence had sounded convincing even to him.

He wondered how many people knew about it by now. Shizune obviously knew since Ton-Ton had been involved, and Kakashi because Tsunade had mentioned Pakkun too.

How would his absence at the academy be explained this morning? Would they tell everyone that he was sent on a mission? He hadn't been officially condemned yet, so it would be unfair if they told everyone he was in prison. What if he couldn't prove his innocence, he'd get locked up here for life, or worse they could give him to the Sand, the gods only knew how he'd get treated there.

His anxious thoughts were interrupted when he heard footsteps approach his cell door. He turned his head away, not wanting to be seen like this by someone he probably knew. He heard a scraping noise as a plate of food was pushed into his cell. "Breakfast." Someone grumbled.

Iruka didn't feel like eating at all, but it'd be unwise to leave it now and go hungry later.

The food was nutritious enough but horribly bland. Was this what he had to look forward to the coming years, maybe even the rest of his life? No, he refused to believe that. Everything was going to be just fine, they would find the real killer and the Hokage would apologize and then he could go back to work at the academy. They could torture him for all he cared, he'd never admit to something he hadn't done.

Some time later he once again heard footsteps coming towards him, heavier ones this time. He chanced a look. When he saw the huge man that paused in front of his cell, he could feel the blood leaving his face.

Ibiki…

The vague possibility of torture had just become a terrifying reality.

"Umino-san, stick your hands through the bars please."

Iruka obeyed immediately. Ibiki looked at him with an almost amused face. "You're of no use to me cuffed to your cell door, Umino-san."

Iruka blushed and put his left hand together with his right, so he'd actually be able to pull his hands back after being cuffed.

Ibiki cuffed him and immediately Iruka could feel his chakra levels diminish. Iruka pulled back and Ibiki opened the cell door and grabbed his elbow, silently pulling him along. Iruka could feel himself growing increasingly nervous; he'd never actually been tortured before, he didn't know how he'd react to it. Even if he had been though, this was so much different. He would endure anything for the sake of his village, but to have his beloved village turn against him this way…

By the time Ibiki stopped walking, Iruka couldn't control the slight trembling of his hands.

He was guided into a small room where someone was already waiting for him. It was one of the Anbu that had escorted him last night, the one who hadn't spoken, he recognized the mask.

"I'll pick him up in twenty minutes, Anbu-san." He heard Ibiki say behind him, and then he heard the door closing behind him. Ibiki had left. Iruka wasn't sure how he felt about that, the man scared him but at least he was someone Iruka knew. It was unnerving to be at the mercy of someone whose face he couldn't even see.

"Sit down Iruka-san."

That voice. He knew it. He racked his brain to remember where he'd heard it before. The Anbu's looks didn't give anything away; many ninja had that same tall, slender build and the hood he was wearing hid his hair.

The Anbu became impatient. "Sit."

Iruka nearly jumped at the terse command and rushed to obey.

Instead of starting the interrogation as Iruka had expected, the man walked back to the door, opened it slightly and peered outside as if to check that no one was near. He seemed satisfied and closed the door again, locking it. He then walked towards the one small window in the room, closing that too.

By now Iruka was starting to get freaked out by the mans behavior, what was he planning to do that required locking the door and closing a window that wasn't even big enough to get his head through? It was as if he expected Iruka to try to escape from the high security prison. Or maybe the man expected that he was going to provoke Iruka into making an escape attempt. He felt a drop of cold sweat run down his spine. Why was an Anbu even bothering with him? The guy that was killed may have been important, but Iruka was still only a chuunin, not exactly an S-class criminal.

"You should do something about that."

Iruka was startled when the man finally spoke. "What?"

"Even a gennin would be able to tell that you're scared. You should know better."

The chiding tone of voice pissed Iruka off, chasing away some of his fear. "Yes, well, it's not everyday that my own people are preparing to torture me to have me confess to a crime I didn't commit, so excuse me for be a little rattled, Anbu-_sama_."

"Torture. You're always quick to draw conclusions aren't you?" The man drawled.

"You're already convinced I did it, so you'll want a confession. I didn't do a thing, so you aren't getting one. Torture is only the next logical step, so get on with it already." Iruka spoke with much more confidence than he actually felt.

The Anbu ignored his remark and set down across from him.

"Do you have any enemies, Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka-sensei. The tone in which those words were said was so familiar. This person had called him that before...Recognition was right there at his fingertips and yet he couldn't grasp it.

He shook his head, it would come to him later, he was sure of it.

He thought about the question the man had posed him. So they _were_ considering the fact that he might have been set up. That thought gave him sparkle of hope at least. Sadly though he couldn't think of anyone that would hold a grudge against him.

"I don't think so."

"Anyone?"

"No."

"Have you noticed anyone acting strangely around you lately? Any unfamiliar people hanging around?"

Iruka shook his head.

"You're not making this any easier."

Iruka resisted the urge to apologize.

"We don't know how long you will have to stay in here Iruka-sensei, it could be a long time before he makes another move."

Alright now he was confused. "Who? Make a move?"

"The killer." The man had the gall to sound cheerful while saying it.

So… What? They didn't think he was guilty? "But-"

"This is the only way. This is bigger than you Iruka-sensei, it was an outright attempt to provoke a war between the Sand and the Leaf. Before Gaara was Kazekage it would have worked."

"So I'm-"

"A pawn. No one must know there is any suspect but you. You will be tried and found guilty and sentenced to spend the rest of your life in here."

"But you can't just…" They couldn't just take his life away from him like that for the gods knew how long.

"When he/or they find that this incident wasn't enough they will try again." The Anbu sounded confident. "And we'll be waiting."

"But what if they don't?"

"Then eventually we will arrange for new evidence to be found and you will be released."

A sudden thought occurred to Iruka. "How do you know?"

"Know what?"

"That I didn't? Everything points at me." Iruka wished he could see the man's face so he could judge his expression.

"There are quite a few people unwilling to believe you'd do such a thing. You're lucky the Hokage is one of them."

The fact that the Hokage was on his side was a huge relief. Slowly he was beginning to worry less about himself and more about what was apparently happening in the village. "But who would-"

"We have only suspicions at this time, Iruka-sensei. I'm not going to discuss them."

That pissed him off again. "I'm going to spend the coming days, weeks, maybe even months in this hellhole, I damn well have the right to know what the hell is going on!"

"Keep your voice down, Iruka-san. Like I said, no one is to know. You will be kept informed if the Hokage wishes you to be."

They sat in silence for a while until Iruka spoke up again. "What are you going to tell people?"

"At first that you're on a mission, after the trial anyone who asks will be told that you were convicted for murder."

Everyone… Al his friends, they'd all think… Naruto wouldn't believe it, not unless… "Naruto will only believe it if I confess. Maybe- Maybe I should tell him that I thought that man was a danger to the village? He'll believe it then, I could-"

"Not necessary. Naruto will be informed."

Iruka was surprised by the huge surge of relief he felt at that announcement. It was a comfort to know that at least one of his friends would know the truth.

A knock at the door startled him.

The Anbu stood. "We will see each other again, Iruka-sensei." Iruka nodded and the Anbu went to open the door for Ibiki. "I'm done here for now." He told the scarred jounin, and he walked out without looking back.

As Ibiki guided him back to his cell, Iruka thought about the days to come. He wondered if he would get out of there with his sanity intact.

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Kakashi waited for the huge drawbridge to be let down so he could leave the high security facility. It was a rotten place to be, hot fumes rising up and irritating his eyes. He didn't envy the chuunin that was for sure.

The man had reacted much calmer than Kakashi had expected though, much calmer than most would have in his situation. He wondered how long it would last.

After leaving the depressing place behind, he sped back towards the village. There was one more uncomfortable conversation he needed to have.


	3. Chapter 3

"NANI !"

Somehow this was exactly the reaction Kakashi had expected from Naruto. The boy couldn't help but be loud. That's why he'd made sure they were somewhere they couldn't be heard, before informing his former student about Iruka's current location.

It took half an hour before Naruto finally understood why Iruka was in jail and more importantly, why he needed to stay there. It took another half an hour to dissuade the boy from running off half cocked in search of the real killer. Finally Kakashi got Naruto calm enough to have a normal conversation with him.

"Can I visit him?" Naruto pleaded.

"Yes. I'm sure Iruka-sensei would appreciate it."

Naruto relaxed after hearing that news. "Oh well, he'll be out soon right?" He grinned. "Maybe Iruka-sensei can relax a little in there. He's always running around after the kids and grading tests and stuff."

'_Relax...'_ Kakashi wondered how long Naruto would be able to hang on to such innocence. Prison was not a 'relaxing' place in any way.

"Do you think he needs stuff from home? I have a key to his apartment. Oi, someone needs to feed Kuma!"

That would be the orange cat, Kakashi guessed.

"Kuma is his cat. He gets pissed off when he doesn't get his fish. I think I'll go by there now if you don't mind."

Kakashi nodded. "Don't mention me."

"Eh?"

"When you visit Iruka-sensei. Don't mention me."

"Sure, whatever. See you later."

Kakashi had turned to leave when suddenly Naruto yelled after him. "Hey, Catch!"

Kakashi caught the object flung at his head without having to turn around. It was a book of some kind with a completely blank cover.

"Don't share it with anyone! It's not in print yet."

Kakashi looked down at the book with dawning hope. It couldn't be… He flipped it open to a random page somewhere in the middle. Oh yeah, baby! Icha Icha volume 29! He'd been waiting for this for three months. He was going to have to treat Naruto to ramen sometime…just as soon as he'd finished reading.

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Iruka dejectedly sat on his cot. In a few minutes, Ibiki had told him, they would be escorted outside to work. Iruka was both apprehensive and impatient. He'd always been a hard worker, just like his parents, and he hated having nothing to do. On the other hand, this would be the first time he'd have to deal with the other prisoners. After the big jailbreak when Fuujin and Raijin went berserk, Iruka and his team had helped to round the escaped prisoners up. He doubted that the inmates had forgotten about that. Iruka stared blindly at the wall in front of him, pondering his fate.

Finally he heard noises echoing through the hallways. It was time.

Footsteps were nearing his cell and Iruka turned his head, curious to see who'd be unlocking it. He was slightly startled to see the all too familiar face of Izumo.

Izumo didn't seem to be aware of him initially. "Come along, time to work." He spoke cheerily, while fussing with the lock. When Iruka stayed seated, Izumo looked up.

Despite everything Iruka couldn't help but laugh when he saw Izumo gaping at him as if the man had found the Godaime herself in the cell.

"Iruka-kun?" Izumo sounded hesitant, as if he suspected that his mind was playing tricks on him.

"Hi Izumo-kun."

"What happened? Did someone escape? Did they lock you in here?" Izumo jerked the cell door open quickly walked in.

Iruka shook his head in denial. "I'm being charged with murder."

Izumo was gaping at him again. He looked a little like a Koi-carp. Had he been too blunt?

A call sounded from the hallway, snapping Izumo out of his daze. "Oi Izumo, everything alright? What's taking you so long? You need help?"

"Umm, yeah."

Within seconds Kotetsu appeared in front of Iruka's cell. "What's going-"

It was vaguely flattering to see how shocked his friends were to find him in prison, Iruka decided. "Good morning, Kotetsu-kun."

"Iruka-kun? what are you doing here?"

"He was charged with murder." Izumo informed him wide-eyed.

"Eh!" Kotetsu seemed bewildered at first, but then he got a calculating look on his face. He studied Iruka closely, seemed to come to a conclusion and poked Iruka's chest. "You pissed off a jounin didn't you?" Kotetsu shook his head at him "Dumb-ass. What did you do? Dump her?"

Iruka opened his mouth, then closed it again. He could hardly explain what was really going on, but he couldn't admit to committing a murder either. Meanwhile, Kotetsu jumped to yet another conclusion.

"Ah. So it's a guy huh? You sneak! Why didn't you tell us?"

Iruka blinked. "How did you come to that conclusion?"

"Well, you're obviously being set up. Whoever set you up has to be pretty damn good to fool everyone, so a jounin or an Anbu even. And they must be thoroughly pissed off at you if they're willing to go this far." He looked at Iruka suspiciously. "Did you cheat? I never thought you were the type for that sort of thing."

Iruka shook his head numbly.

"Tss, damn jounin. All crazy." Kotetsu mumbled.

If madness was the only requirement for jounin, Iruka didn't see how Kotetsu could still be a chuunin. It did save him from having to think up his own explanation though, and for that he was thankful.

Izumo nudged Kotetsu. "We have work to do." He turned to Iruka. "We'll talk more later. Just follow the herd outside. We'll be keeping an eye out for any trouble okay? Try not to worry."

Iruka smiled gratefully at his friends, took a deep calming breath and walked out of his cell to line up with the other prisoners.

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Two hours later, Iruka heaved a sigh of relief as they were guided back inside again. It hadn't been nearly as bad as he'd expected. For the first time, Iruka was glad that he didn't have a very memorable face. None of the other prisoners seemed to have recognized him as the ninja that took them back here. Or if they did, they didn't seem to care.

Thankfully he hadn't needed Izumo or Kotetsu's assistance at all. There had been a few lewd comments directed at him, but that had been the worst of it.

Of course he still had the showers to look forward to, but he was fairly confident he'd make it through those unscathed too. He was in good condition, and not only could he fight, but he could fight dirty too. And besides, there was always a guard near. Kotetsu loved having a story to tell, and before shower time his theory about the scorned jounin lover with vengeful tendencies would have probably reached the other guards too.

Iruka had no idea if they'd believe it, the idea was absurd, but they would doubt his guilt nonetheless and likely keep an eye on him.

After returning their tools everyone was locked back into their cells and they were given a simple lunch. Izumo picked up the tray a little later and informed Iruka of the schedule for the rest of the day. Visitors were allowed to come by from 5 pm until 5.30 pm and dinner would be served at 6 pm. After dinner groups of six prisoners at a time would be taken to the showers and have ten minutes to get cleaned up. Iruka's group would go at 7.20 pm.

Iruka's cell didn't have window so he couldn't be sure of the exact time, but he guessed it was around 1.30 or 2 pm. That left him with a lot of time to wait. He didn't expect any visitors to come. Nobody probably even knew that he was here yet, nobody that would visit him anyway. That gave him four hours or so to fill. Now he finally really understood what Mizuki had meant. There really was nothing else to do but train here.

After an hour and a half of vigorous push-ups, sit-ups and kata's the sweat was dripping off of him and he was panting heavily. With a sigh he collapsed on his cot. He'd never really realized how much his training had suffered from his busy schedule. Teaching, grading, manning the mission desk and doing the occasional mission himself…he barely had time to eat, let alone properly train.

At least time wasn't a problem here. Quite the contrary, he still had some hours to go. He could continue his physical training of course, but it would mean that all his muscles would be aching the next day, which would leave him unable to train tomorrow. Trying to sleep now would leave him unable to sleep tonight and then he'd be exhausted again in the morning, so that wasn't an option either.

He could try to meditate of course... Everyone he knew seemed to agree that meditation was an important tool to clear your mind and preserve your sanity as a shinobi. The problem was that Iruka had always been utterly unable to do it. He was good enough at concentrating on something; it was emptying his mind that proved to be difficult for him. He either fell asleep trying or ended up daydreaming. Both were relaxing enough, but not exactly the goal of the exercise.

Maybe this was the time to learn it. There would be no distractions here, and for the first time in many years he couldn't think of some chore or errand he had to do. Yeah, he decided, he would practise meditation. Maybe then he wouldn't feel so ridiculous when he taught the relaxation techniques to his students. He'd always felt like a bit of a fraud when he did that. How could he properly explain a technique to them, when he was incapable of correctly performing it himself?

He made himself comfortable on his cot, legs crossed and his back straight, closed his eyes, controlled his breathing and tried to clear his thoughts.

Outside a bird called. He wondered what kind it was. Maybe it wasn't a bird, but a code sign between ninja? Damn it, he shouldn't be thinking. Pushing the thoughts away he concentrated on emptiness. The light from the hallway colored the insides of his eyelids red. _No thinking!_

Maybe if he focused completely on his breathing…In, out, in, out, in, out. _Damn it, pervy thoughts! _

He tried again, picturing only darkness in his mind…

"Iruka-sensei! Wake up, you have a visitor."


	4. Chapter 4

Hey everyone

I know, I know. it took me long enough, but I finally wrote chapter 4.

Thank you, chibinecco, for looking it over for me, removing the worst mistakes and pointing me at some glaring plotholes.

On to the story.

* * *

Iruka blinked the sleep from his eyes. So much for meditating. He'd have to give it another try later on. Then the meaning of Izumo's words finally got through to his brain. A visitor? Already? 

"Iruka-sensei!"

"Naruto-kun!" Iruka was pleasantly surprised. He had hoped the boy would visit, but he certainly hadn't expected him this soon.

"How are you doing Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka was touched, Naruto sounded genuinely worried. Too bad he couldn't take the boy out for ramen right now. He resolved to do it as soon as he got out of this place.

"I'm well, Naruto-kun." Iruka smiled reassuringly at his former student.

"I went to your house to feed Kuma." Naruto said proudly.

"Thank you, I really appreciate that." Iruka had been worrying about the orange fluff ball. "I hate to ask, but do you think you could-"

Naruto didn't let him finish. "Of course I'll keep feeding him. I already asked your neighbor to do it when I'm on a mission and she said yes." Then, with a cheeky grin, he added "I think she likes you."

Iruka blushed. She did like him. A little bit more than Iruka would have preferred actually. He really didn't like the fact that the besotted woman now had an excuse to roam around his apartment, but beggars can't be choosers, and he supposed he should be grateful that Kuma would be taken care of.

He decided to change the subject before Naruto got any ideas about setting him up with his single and desperate neighbor. "If you need to buy fish, there's money hidden in the book in the lowest drawer of my bedside table. It should be enough to last you for a while."

A sudden realization hit him. He didn't know how long this was going to take. It could be months. Or moreKonoha provided for ninja that were injured or otherwise incapable of working for a while, but not for criminals.

He was fairly sure he would get some sort of allowance until he was actually sentenced, but what about after that time?

If he kept his apartment, the rent would have to come out of his savings. That thought didn't sit well with him. It wasn't like he'd been saving for anything in particular; he just liked knowing that he had a little extra if he ever needed it. It had taken him a long time to save the amount he had right now and it seemed stupid to let it go to waste renting an apartment that nobody was living in. If push came to shove, he decided, he would have to ask Naruto to take Kuma in and store his stuff somewhere.

Wanting a distraction from his gloomy thoughts, he asked Naruto about how his training was going. Soon he was immersed in the absurd details of Naruto's training with the pervert sennin. He would never understand how a genius ninja like Jiraiya could be so utterly obsessed with porn.

Too soon, Izumo reappeared to tell them that visiting times were over.

"Already?" Naruto sounded disappointed. He turned back to Iruka. "I have to leave on a mission tomorrow. I don't know how long we'll be gone, couple of weeks probably. I'll come by as soon as I get back, ok? Try to relax a little, you always work too hard."

Iruka swallowed thickly and nodded, watching Naruto give a last wave and disappear from his sight.

With nothing else to do, Iruka concentrated on doing some stretches to pass the time until dinner. Finally a plate was pushed into his cell and he ate. Dinner tasted as bland as breakfast had.

More waiting and then the moment he'd been dreading most that day came to term. Shower time.

Walking with three guards, including Kotetsu, and five other prisoners, he made his way to the small area where they would be allowed to bathe.

It felt weird to undress with his friend watching him, but he also felt grateful for the protection the guards provided. As he showered quickly he felt eyes burning into his back or, more likely, his butt. Nothing happened though. No one touched him or even made any inappropriate remarks and within no time he was safely back in his cell, where there was nothing left to do but wait and sleep.

Over the following days, Iruka established a routine. He ate, worked, trained, stretched, ate showered and slept. The times in between, he spent practicing meditation.

It was getting easier and easier to empty his mind and fall into a state of utter concentration. He felt quite proud actually, to finally have mastered this skill.

On the fifth day he once again sat on his cot, hands together in preparation for the ninjutsu meditation, mind calm and at peace, when in the nothingness there was suddenly a pinpoint of light, like the light at the end of a very long tunnel. Subconsciously he willed it closer. Oh so slowly the pinpoint grew larger. No… No that was wrong. The light wasn't growing. He was moving closer to it, stretching towards it.

A sudden noise that seemed to come from all around him broke his concentration and the little spot of light rapidly diminished and disappeared. It felt like being sucked backwards at an incredible speed. With a gasp he landed in his body. Well, it felt like landing anyway even though it seemed ridiculous to think of it in those terms.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."

Iruka nearly jumped out of his skin when Kotetsu spoke.

"Brought dinner." The man said, pointing at the plate now decorating Iruka's cell floor.

"Ah thank you." Iruka mumbled feebly, heart still pounding.

Absentmindedly he reached for the plate and started eating, chewing without tasting anything. What was that light? Had he been dreaming? It certainly hadn't felt like a dream.

He would try again, he decided. After dinner he would try again.

After his plate had been retrieved, he settled on his cot and closed his eyes, waiting for the calm.

It didn't come.

He was so curious about what he'd seen, so anxious to see it again, that he was unable to relax enough to even reach a true meditative state.

It took two days before he saw the speck of light again, by that time he'd almost written it off as a figment of his imagination.

He knew better how to move towards it this time, and soon the pinpoint was no longer a pinpoint but a glowing orb of light, closer with each passing moment.

He felt like he recognized it somehow, the grayish color felt incredibly familiar to him.

When dinner once again jerked him out of his concentration he felt like chucking the plate at the guards head.

Each day he came a bit closer to reaching his goal, reaching the light. Each day he moved faster through the darkness.

Today would be the day, Iruka thought as he worked outside in the hot stinking fumes. He knew it. Yesterday he'd almost had it. After work today he'd have a couple of hours free if he skipped his training. He'd make it this time, he knew he would.

Finally after what seemed like ages, he was back in his cell. Taking his usual position, he took a few deep breaths. Now or never.

The familiar emptiness came with practiced ease.

Soon he became aware of the light, and the race started. Closer and closer he got until finally, incredibly, it surrounded him completely. He felt an overwhelming sense of freedom and then for the first time he could see clearly.

It was the most anticlimactic moment of his life.

He was looking at the wall of his cell. The grey stone lighted by the lamps hanging outside in the corridor.

Had he been disturbed again? Right at the critical moment? He looked at his cell door, but there was no one there. Aside from that, he would have remembered hearing something, he always did.

So was this it then? Had he spent the last two weeks or so learning to open his eyes really, really slowly or something? In frustration he moved to the door. The moment he passed right through the bars was the same moment that he realized he was moving but not walking.

Outside in the corridor he halted in utter astonishment. How the hell was this happening? He turned around to look at where he'd just been sitting. No, he realized, where he was _still_ sitting. Fascinated he stared at his own unmoving form.

So he _was_ still meditating… and this was all his imagination. But no day dream, or real dream for that matter, had ever been this clear and detailed. He could see everything! He looked back at the tempting corridor, why not have a look around? It seemed to be harmless.

A sudden fear made him look back at his body one more time. Yes… his body was breathing fine all on its own. Then he wanted to laugh, because this was his imagination and one could hardly be daydreaming when one was dead. Besides, if he were dead, which seemed very unlikely since he'd never heard of anyone dying from concentrating too hard, this wasn't at all like he'd imagined death to be.

With nothing to hold him back, he moved into the corridor. Then something occurred to him. If this was his imagination, then the laws of nature had no power here. Testing his theory, he willed himself up. It was working! Gathering his courage he left the stone safety of floors and walls behind and moved up and out to the center of the prison.

From here out, he could see all the cells. He recognized most of the prisoners. Kotetsu and Izumo were both on duty today and he saw them making their rounds.

Soon they would probably be reassigned. Nobody was made to work at the prison for a very long time. Nobody wanted to. He would be sad to see them go.

His gaze was drawn to the bridge that would take him out of here, some day soon hopefully. He started towards it when he noticed Izumo approaching his own cell. Interested he looked on as the chuunin called for him and, when he got no response, opened the door and moved into the cell. The moment Izumo reached out and touched his arm Iruka was violently jerked back into himself.

Disoriented and gasping for breath he blinked his eyes. Izumo was crouched before him with a worried look on his face.

"Are you alright, Iruka-kun?"

Taking a deep, slow breath Iruka tried to calm his wildly beating heart. "Yes" he finally answered. "I was just… dreaming."

Izumo didn't look convinced. Iruka couldn't blame him. Ninja just didn't wake up like he just had. Any ninja above genin level had learned to wake up quiet and alert. You couldn't afford to wake up disoriented and confused while you were on a mission. It was a sure-fire way of getting killed.

"Really," he assured the man in front of him. "I'm fine." But a question was plaguing him. If everything he saw was in his imagination than how had he known Izumo was coming for him? He couldn't be watching things that were actually happening, could he? He'd never heard of such a skill before. Maybe he'd subconsciously heard the man coming. Yeah, that was probably it. He'd recognized Izumo's way of walking and his mind had promptly provided him with images to go with the sounds. The human mind was a wondrous thing.

"Alright" Izumo said reluctantly. "You have a visitor. Naruto-kun is back from his mission. Kotetsu is bringing him up. I thought you'd like to have a warning since you've been meditating a lot lately."

"Thank you, Izumo-kun. I really appreciate it."

"You know we're here if you need to talk about anything, right? You're still our friend; your being in here doesn't change that."

"Thank you." Iruka said sincerely. "But I'm alright. Really"

The moment was broken by a loudmouth brat. "Iruka-sensei!"

"Welcome back Naruto-kun" Iruka smiled gently at the usual enthusiastic greeting.

"You look good, Iruka-sensei. You've been training, huh? Want to spar sometime when you get out? We went to the sand country to visit Gaara. They have good ramen in the sand. Not as good as Ichiraku's, but still pretty damned good."

The two chuunin guards left him alone with Naruto and he listened contently to the boys chatter. Tomorrow he would leave this place, in mind if not in body. Life in prison was turning out to be surprisingly…surprising.

"I'm going to be there tomorrow, you know."

"Huh?" What? He tried to remember what Naruto had been talking about.

"At your trial. I'm going to be there. You should see at least one friendly face in the crowd."

Oh gods, his trial, he remembered with a shock. He'd been so preoccupied the last weeks that he'd stopped counting the days.

Normally it would have been held sooner, but apparently, some people from the Sand needed to be present. He wondered if the dead man's family was coming. He hoped not. The fact that he hadn't done anything would not stop them from hating him.

Iruka wondered why they even had to go through with it. He already knew the outcome. The Sand village would want justice, and Iruka was the only thing Konoha had to offer.

Two days later all was done. He'd sat through endless hearings, listened to accusations and conspiracy theories and heard his past as a prankster getting dragged back up to show that he was really no good as a person. Apparently having your parents murdered didn't do much for your mental health either.

His entire defense consisted of the fact that he'd been at home, sleeping, with no witnesses, and that he had no reason at all to murder anyone.

It wasn't a very strong defense.

There was one thing Iruka was grateful for though. Access to the trial had been limited, which at least meant that he hadn't had to face his colleagues and friends. He didn't know if he could have handled it otherwise. Seeing Naruto's sympathetic face had been difficult enough.

Now there was nothing left to do but wait for the verdict. It shouldn't take very long.

* * *

That evening in the Hokage tower, Tsunade and Kakashi had another of their late night conversations. 

"How is he doing?" The Godaime asked her companion.

"His little chuunin friends are worried. They say he sits on his bed and meditates, only coming back when they call for him or touch him. They say he's preoccupied and distant."

"It's only to be expected." Tsunade nodded. "How did he take the news of his conviction?"

When Kakashi only shrugged, she looked at him sideways. "You did tell him right?"

"I was on my way to the prison when I came across a giant frog. He'd lost his nephew and I had to help him look. By the time we found the little squirt, visiting times were over."

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "He deserves to know."

"You tell him."

She remained silent and Kakashi smiled knowingly. "He has to stay in there anyway. Convicted or not. He doesn't need to know right this moment."

"I need sake. Get me drink."

Kakashi smirked beneath his mask and handed her a bottle.

She took a drink and looked at him sternly. "Tomorrow you're telling him."


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry it took so long (again). On the upside, there's finally some yaoi in this fic XD

Thank you, chibinecco, for checking it for me . You're the best.

* * *

On the eighteenth day of his imprisonment, Iruka was sick of waiting for someone to come and tell him that he'd spend the rest of his life in prison, so he escaped the only way he could, leaving his body behind. Speeding away from the depressing gloom of his cell, he hesitated only for a moment before crossing the barrier of molten rock and moving towards the forest.

He was met with an explosion of life. Never before had he truly realized how unbelievably beautiful the forest was. Trees, birds, flowers, insects, he saw everything with incredible clarity.

He stayed there, wallowing in a freedom he hadn't felt since childhood, until his body was disturbed and he was forcefully pulled back to reality.

The reason for the disturbance was not dinner this time, but a visitor. He was not surprised to see the Anbu once again and he listened silently as he was told what he already knew. He would spend the rest of his life here, in this cell. The Anbu's parting words, meant only for Iruka's ears, gave him some hope though. _"They should move soon."_

That night, despite everything, he fell asleep with a smile on his face.

Everyday Iruka looked forward to his little mind trips, anticipating the moment he could escape from his prison, and every day his confidence grew and he went a little further away.

He had to force himself not to completely abandon his physical training, reminding himself that eventually he would be released, the Anbu had told him so, and he'd have to go back to work. He couldn't let himself go completely.

One evening after his shower, he sat on his cot. Within minutes his mind left his body behind.

He was getting frighteningly good at it. Sometimes he wondered and worried if what he was doing was healthy. Maybe he was getting lost in his own mind. What if one day a loud noise or a touch wasn't enough to pull him back from the recesses of his mind? It was always someone else who got him out of his trance…

Not his time, he decided. After nothing more than visiting the corridor, he made his way back to his body.

For a few seconds he watched himself critically. It was time to cut his hair again. Then he concentrated fiercely on his want to be back inside his body.

It wasn't working.

He felt a slight panic come over him. Was he locked out of his own body?

Comforting himself with the thought that eventually breakfast would come and one of the guards would wake him, he tried to think logically about the situation.

In this state he was always completely focused on sight. Maybe if he focused on other senses?

He tried to remember the feeling of the bed as he sat on it, the muscles in his back keeping him upright, the feeling of breathing in and out. Slowly darkness crept up on him and the feelings became stronger and stronger until his breathing was no longer on automatic pilot and the darkness was complete.

He opened his eyes and moved his hands before them.

Relief washed over him. He'd done it. Now at least he knew that he could come back on his own.

All was silent in the halls, but Iruka didn't feel like sleeping just yet. It couldn't hurt to make another little trip.

Only moments later, his mind drifted through the corridor again. He planned to go to the forest, there was a family of squirrels there who were very amusing to watch, but then his eye fell on Kotetsu.

He was leaving. Apparently, there'd just been a change of guard.

Forgetting all about the forest, Iruka gleefully decided to follow his friend.

As soon as Kotetsu was outside, the man started off at a brisk trot.

He sure is in a hurry to get home, Iruka thought, following the other chuunin effortlessly. He couldn't blame the other nin. It was late and he was sure that his friend was hungry and tired.

Some time later, they arrived at an apartment building not too far from the ninja academy. Iruka recognized it; he passed it when he walked to school from his own home.

They went up a flight of stairs, and then Kotetsu halted in front of a door, quickly pulling out his keys and opening it.

Iruka followed him in.

It was a nice apartment, Iruka decided, looking around. The walls were cream and a few landscape painting adorned them. The floor was wooden and there was a small, red, comfortable looking couch.

Iruka watched as Kotetsu went into the kitchen and made coffee. He was surprised when the man pulled out two mugs instead of one. Was he expecting company? It was pretty late for visitors…

Kotetsu was still pouring the coffee when his head shot up and he put the pot down and walked to the door. Iruka trailed him, curious to see who'd be coming by this late in the evening. Maybe the other chuunin had a girlfriend?

It wasn't a girl who stood in front of the door though. It was Izumo.

The two men casually greeted each other, and Izumo strolled in, Kotetsu closing the door behind him.

They were probably going to have a companionable drink after work, Iruka decided. He shouldn't have been surprised, they were best friends after all.

Kotetsu walked back into the kitchen, finished pouring the coffee and handed one of the mugs to Izumo, who nodded his thanks.

Iruka followed them back to the living room and watched as they sat down on the couch, chatting.

This was a little boring, Iruka decided. Maybe he should have gone to the forest as he had planned. Watching the hyperactive squirrel family seemed to be a lot more interesting than watching his friends sitting around having a-.

Why was Izumo rubbing Kotetsu's leg like that?

The action seemed way too intimate to Iruka. A pat on a friend's leg was one thing, but the way Izumo was rubbing was almost… sexual. Kotetsu didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary though.

Iruka watched in amazement as the hand slowly traveled higher. Just before it touched places where no mere friend should ever touch, Kotetsu moved and Izumo pulled back.

Iruka watched curiously as Kotetsu plucked Izumo's mug from his hand and put both mugs on the coffee table. Was he angry? Didn't seem like it. Maybe this was just the way they-

_Holy shit! _

Okay so maybe Iruka had been wrong about the best-friends thing. Best friends didn't kiss like that.

Izumo had his hands buried in Kotetsu's hair and was kissing him passionately, almost wildly. Kotetsu meanwhile was dexterously undoing Izumo's vest, pulling the other's shirt loose and pawing greedily at the bared skin.

Izumo writhed as Kotetsu rubbed what Iruka could only assume was his nipple. In retaliation he bit and sucked his way down his 'lovers' jaw and neck, pausing a long time near the shoulder. When Izumo pulled back to admire his handiwork, Iruka could see a spectacular hickey on Kotetsu's neck.

Fascinated, Iruka watched his friends make out.

Clothes were pulled off frantically, until both ninja were down to their underwear. Feeling a little uncomfortable, Iruka had to admit that they were attractive.

When Izumo slid to the ground and kneeled between Kotetsu's wide spread legs Iruka suddenly felt guilty. He shouldn't be thinking of his friends like this.

Part of him wanted to stay and watch, it was only in his mind after all, what could it hurt? But another part of him was screaming at him to leave. It looked too damn real. It wasn't real though. Couldn't be. Everything he saw while he was traveling like this was his imagination.

Right?

As Izumo sucked down Kotetsu's cock, Iruka fled outside.

Feeling flustered and guilty, Iruka moved away from the building and towards the market square. What now?

It was very late by now and he didn't see anyone around. Maybe that was his mind's way of telling him he should just go back to his body.

Iruka was just about to leave when he saw someone strolling by on the other side of the square. He couldn't resist taking a closer look.

Oh my. Kakashi-sensei.

Immediately he decided to follow. It wasn't strange that he found himself thinking about the other man. He'd always been curious about him, especially after that debacle with the chuunin exams. Naruto had always bombarded him with stories about his perverted, lazy, but still incredibly cool jounin sensei.

They went to an apartment building at the southern side of Konoha. Iruka had gone there once before to look at an apartment. They were nice and spacious, but sadly, he couldn't afford it on his teacher's salary. He wondered if Kakashi really lived there. For a jounin the money wouldn't be a problem at least.

The both of them went all the way up to the top floor. Must be handy for a jounin to live on the top floor of a building, Iruka thought, they did tend to travel over the rooftops a lot.

The inside of Kakashi's apartment looked simple and clean. It was the home of someone who spent a lot of time elsewhere. Did Kakashi have a girlfriend? Iruka had no idea. He'd never heard about the man having a significant other, but then again, maybe he was just discreet.

Iruka followed Kakashi as the man walked through his entire apartment, checking windows and traps and seemingly making sure that his space was locked up tight. Iruka didn't think anyone would be able to break in here at all, let alone do it without making enough noise to alert the jounin.

When Kakashi was satisfied, he walked to the bathroom, Iruka trailing him. It was small and windowless, with a toilet, a little cabinet, sink, and a small shower in the cramped space.

Iruka watched curiously, as the jounin locked the door behind him and slapped a piece of paper on it, some kind of protective seal.

Kakashi proceeded to rummage in the pack he'd been carrying and pulled out a round shape.

Iruka took a closer look. It was an Anbu mask.

Well, that wasn't really a big surprise, now that the man didn't have a genin team to teach anymore.

Kakashi turned on the faucet and held the mask under the streaming water, rinsing away blood and dirt. The pattern on the mask slowly became clear.

_Holy shit. _

That wasn't just any Anbu mask; it was 'the' Anbu mask. His Anbu's mask. Kakashi sensei was his Anbu. The one who'd visited him to tell him they knew he was innocent, but that he'd have to stay locked up anyway.

Iruka knew he'd recognized the Anbu's voice from somewhere, how could he not have known?!

Then another thought came to him. Kakashi-sensei…had seen him naked.

If he could have, he'd have blushed as red as a tomato.

No, Iruka tried to reassure himself, this was his imagination. There was no reason to believe the Anbu really was Kakashi, or that Kakashi even lived here. This was just his mind making stuff up.

Unless of course he'd subconsciously recognized Kakashi's voice and- Gods, this shit was getting too complicated. He didn't know what was real anymore.

Kakashi, meanwhile, had stuffed the now clean mask back in his pack and was…stripping. He was stripping. Worries instantly forgotten, Iruka looked on riveted as the object of his fascination quickly and efficiently shed his clothes.

Within moments, the jounin was naked, pale skin riddled with scars, most of which were nothing more than fine white lines. The man was thin, but nicely muscled, more so than Iruka knew himself to be. His soft cock lay nestled in a thatch of light gray curls.

Iruka wanted to touch.

Kakashi turned and entered the shower. With difficulty Iruka tore his gaze away from the man's firm and taut behind. That was when he noticed the mask was still on.

Wasn't he going to take it off even for a shower?

Iruka watched as the jounin rinsed his body off below the neck, leaving his hair and face mask dry. Three minutes later the man was finished. He dried off quickly, slipped into a bathrobe and left the bathroom.

Iruka was eager to find out what the famous copy-nin did with his evenings. He was slightly disappointed when Kakashi dropped onto the couch and started reading.

After a while it got boring to watch the other man and Iruka slowly retreated back to the village square. He knew it was late, and that he should go back to the prison, he did have to work again in the morning after all. The only thing was, that he really didn't feel like going back yet.

He decided to visit his apartment, just a quick trip there to see how Kuma, his cat, was faring, and then he'd go back; he promised himself. It would only take a few minutes.

Since he knew exactly where he was going, he arrived only seconds later, drifting through the door. He knew where his cat would be at this time, the lazy thing; and yep, there he was, curled into a tight ball on Iruka's bed.

The sight saddened Iruka. Kuma had to be lonely. He was used to being petted a lot and having company in the evenings at least. Iruka slowly drifted closer to his beloved pet.

Kuma uncurled and looked around.

When Iruka moved even closer, Kuma seemed to hone in on him, standing up stretching and then moving towards him.

Well, that confirms this is all in my imagination, Iruka thought. How on earth would Kuma be able to see him if there was no body to see?

His mind didn't seem to get that though, and Kuma continued to approach him. As Iruka pulled back, Kuma followed.

It was kind of fun actually. Iruka moved into different corners of the room and Kuma would look around with trembling whiskers and finally trot after him. It gave Iruka an idea.

He guided the cat out of the bedroom and through the corridor to the door. When Kuma was close to it, Iruka moved outside and waited. Would he come?

Yes! Iruka wanted to cheer when Kuma stuck his head out of the cat flap.

Slowly Iruka guided the orange fluff ball through the village and the forest. It was nearly two hours later before they reached the prison, and then the damn drawbridge was up.

Eyeing the Tabby speculatively, Iruka decided to try something. He concentrated fiercely on the cat and willed him to go up into the air with Iruka himself; this was Iruka's mind after all, with Iruka's rules.

It didn't work.

Giving up on that particular exercise Iruka thought about what else he could do. Meanwhile Kuma got bored and sat down, stretching one leg up into the air and washing his behind.

Right at that moment the drawbridge started coming down. Yes! Iruka thought. What luck!

He watched as Ibiki rushed over the bridge and disappeared into the forest. He was probably summoned by the Hokage.

As soon as Ibiki was out of sight Iruka rushed over the bridge with Kuma in tow.

Nobody noticed the feline making its way through the darkened corridors, and they reached Iruka's cell without trouble. Kuma immediately jumped on the bed next to Iruka, walked a few circles and settled down. Mission accomplished.

Iruka smiled at the sight of his cat nestled close to his own body. It was time for Iruka to get out of his trance and get some sleep, he decided, there was only an hour or so left before dawn.

He concentrated on feeling and breathing, as he'd done earlier that evening, and soon, the darkness was creeping up on him. The more aware he became of his body, the more tired he felt. Apparently his body hadn't appreciated sitting up all night. Before he was even completely 'back' he vaguely felt himself listing over and dropping to his side on the bed. Then…there was nothing.

* * *

Iruka was rudely awakened by the clatter of a food tray falling to the ground. 

"Umino-san!" The guard said. "How did you do that?! You're not supposed to be able to perform a summoning technique in here!"

"Summoning technique? I don't know wha-"

At that exact moment he felt something moving against his stomach. Startled, he looked down, only to see Kuma stretch before once again curling up into a comfortably warm ball of fluff.

How was he going to explain this? "I-"

Kotetsu appeared. "What's going on? Iruka-kun, what did you do?"

"I don't-"

Iruka fell still and stared with open mouth at the dark bruise on the other chuunin's neck.

Finally, he took a deep breath and tried again.

"I think I need to speak to Tsunade-sama."


	6. Chapter 6

Thank you, chibinecco, for the beta. You're the best

* * *

Kotetsu and the other guard had a quick discussion, too soft for Iruka too hear, and then, the other guard rushed off.

"Alright, Iruka-kun," Kotetsu said, "You need to give me that cat now."

Anxiously Iruka hugged the orange tabby to him. "It's just Kuma! He's my pet. It's not a summon, Kotetsu-kun, I swear. He's just a regular cat! It's not his fault I-"

"It's okay Iruka-kun. I won't hurt him, I promise. But I can't let him stay in there with you."

Iruka nodded reluctantly. Of course they couldn't let some strange cat just stay with a prisoner. He should be thankful they hadn't chucked a couple of kunai at the tabby the moment they saw it. Slowly Iruka walked to the bars, Kuma in his arms.

After one last hug, Iruka kneeled down, put Kuma on the ground and gave him a light push so he'd walk through.

On the other side, Kotetsu grabbed the cat gently and lifted him in his arms.

"You can give him to Naruto-kun if you want. He'll take care of him." Iruka mumbled.

Kotetsu nodded. "Don't worry about your pet, Iruka-kun. He'll be fine."

Iruka watched dejectedly as the other chuunin walked away. He'd messed up, big time. With a sigh, he dropped down on his cot. He was still so very tired after last night. Despite his worries, his eyes soon fell closed, and he drifted off to sleep.

He woke up when a guard called for him, the same guard that had discovered Kuma that morning. Two Anbu members were standing next to him. Kakashi-san wasn't one of them.

In complete silence, Iruka was escorted to the Hokage building and into the Godaime's office. Kakashi-san, in his Anbu outfit, was already standing in a corner.

As soon as the other two Anbu members had left, Tsunade ordered Iruka to explain himself. So he tried as best as he could. He told her about how he practiced meditation and how he began to see things; and that apparently, he could even influence animals with this weird new skill. Now he stood and waited for her reaction.

"Why didn't you come forward with this immediately Iruka-sensei?"

Involuntarily Iruka took a step backwards at the icy tone of the Godaime's voice. Gods, she looked pissed off. She looked as if she was ready to bash his brains in with the heavy scroll she was holding.

He decided that honesty was the best way to go. "I only found out that I could do something with it this morning."

Iruka watched nervously as her fingernails dug violently into the scroll.

"Let me rephrase the question, Iruka-sensei. How long have you been making these little trips of yours?"

"Umm two weeks, give or take."

"Then why the hell didn't you tell me earlier?!" She exploded.

Iruka cringed. "I- I didn't think it was-"

"Important?! You didn't think it was important that a _chuunin_ with a relatively low level of clearance has the ability to spy, unnoticed, at every goddamned thing that goes on in this village?!"

"No, I-"

"No?!"

"No, that's not what I mean. Please just let me explain, Tsunade-sama." Iruka pleaded.

"Oh, you'd better explain, Iruka-_sensei_, or I'll-"

"I thought it was just-" _fantasy. _He'd thought it was fantasy. A pleasant, extraordinarily clear day dream, nothing more. "I thought it was all just in my mind."

Behind them the Anbu, _Kakashi-san_, snorted.

Iruka hurried to explain more clearly, before the Hokage started yelling again. "I thought it was kind of a daydream. That because of the meditation, my concentration was so great that I could picture things in my mind with much more detail then I normally ever could."

For a long moment there was silence as Tsunade seemed to mull over his words. Then she spoke up softly. "You thought you were fantasizing about being free."

Relieved, Iruka nodded. "Yes, although one time I saw Kotetsu walk towards me, and when he touched me I actually 'woke up'. But I thought it was just because my body heard footsteps and recognized them as Kotetsu and my mind simply provided images to go with the sounds. I mean, what else was I supposed to think? I've never heard of a skill like this before."

Tsunade heaved a long, put-upon sigh. "Alright, Iruka-sensei, you're forgiven. But I need to know exactly what you saw while you thought you were daydreaming."

Relieved, Iruka started telling her about what he'd seen. "It was the forest mostly, Tsunade-sama, and the inside of the prison. I only went to the village once, yesterday evening, when I followed Kotetsu home. I umm… watched him for a while." Iruka decided not to give any more detail then that. What Kotetsu and Izumo did in their free time was nobody's business, as long as it didn't endanger the village. "I left Kotetsu's place and kind of floated around the village square for a while."

Iruka swallowed thickly before going on, he didn't look forward to telling the next part. "At that point I saw Kakashi-san walk by, and I was… curious. So I followed him to his apartment."

Iruka couldn't stop the blush from rising to his face as he thought about how he'd observed the man in the shower. No way was he telling that to the Hokage and certainly not with the man in question standing right behind him.

"Any particular reason that you're blushing like a school girl, Iruka-kun?" Tsunade sounded amused and speculative.

Iruka was intensely aware of the man still standing guard behind him. "I- I saw his Anbu mask, Tsunade-sama." There. Let them think that was the only reason he was embarrassed.

"Oh."

Iruka looked down and bit his lip to keep from smiling at the disappointment in her voice. Apparently, all sennin were perverts.

At least she'd bought it. Kakashi-san most likely wouldn't. After all, the man knew he'd only taken the Anbu mask out in the bathroom and that he'd showered immediately after. If Kakashi ever asked him about it though, Iruka was just going to say that he'd left right after seeing the mask. That was his story, and he was sticking with it.

Tsunade spoke up again. "How exactly did you get that cat in your cell?"

"I went to my apartment to check up on him, Tsunade-sama, and when I came close, he noticed me. I don't know if he saw something or just sensed me somehow, but he followed. I thought it was funny, so I just kind of lured him back to the prison with me. When the drawbridge came down I guided him over it and then to my cell."

"Why didn't you have me notified last night then?" This time, Tsunade sounded more curious than pissed off to Iruka's relief.

"When I moved back into my body I got very tired. The only thing I remember is falling over and then nothing until waking up when the guard saw Kuma."

The Godaime mulled over his words. "Hnnn Interesting."

It stayed silent for a while, until Tsunade spoke up again, sounding worryingly serious. "I'm sorry Iruka-sensei."

Her words chilled him to the bone. Sorry? Sorry for what, what did she mean?

"You do realize the implications of this new skill, don't you? You appear to be able to access any place you want. This village's secrets are no longer safe from you. The village is no longer safe from you. I really don't have any other choice. I hope you understand."

What? She wouldn't- She wouldn't kill him over this right? So what if he had a lot more access to stuff now. He would never betray his village. Never. "But, Tsunade-sama, I-"

"No buts, Iruka-sensei. As I said, I'm sorry, but there's no other way. I cannot allow you to be a teacher any longer."

Iruka blinked. "Huh?" He said intelligently.

"You can't go back to teaching, Iruka-kun."

Yes, he heard that. He didn't know whether to be relieved or irritated. Had she just spontaneously forgotten where he'd been the last few weeks? "Tsunade-sama, it's not as if I've been standing in front of the classroom this last month."

She waved his comment away. "Yes, yes, I know, but we'd have found the real killer eventually, or made something up, and then you could have gone back to teach your little kids, but this is a whole different situation Iruka-sensei."

"O-kay. So what now then?" He felt lost.

"First off, we're moving you to the Uchiha compound."

_The Uchiha compound?_ "I thought it was deserted?"

"Yes, most people do. Now, seeing as how you have the ability to find out whatever you want to know anyway, I'm going to give you the highest level of security clearance. You'll remain chuunin rank though, I can not visibly promote you to jounin, people would ask too many questions."

Iruka watched dazedly as Tsunade paced through the room, slapping the scroll that she was still holding into her other hand rhythmically.

"Yes," she muttered to herself, "Yes, that'll work."

"Kakashi-san," Tsunade suddenly addressed the Anbu, "Take of the mask and hood. Iruka-kun already knows who you are anyway and besides that, I'm taking you off active Anbu duty."

As soon as the mask was off, Kakashi smiled his trademark one-eyed smile at Iruka.

Iruka smiled back uncomfortably, feeling blood rushing to his face. After last night he didn't think he'd ever be able to look the man in the eye again without blushing.

Tsunade continued. "Alright, Kakashi-san, your new mission will be to train with Iruka-kun. I want to know exactly how long he can keep it up and how far this skill stretches. And use your nin-dogs to see if they can sense him as well."

Kakashi nodded.

For Iruka everything was going a little too fast though. "Tsunade-sama, I don't understand. You can't just remove me from prison, I was convicted!"

"Yes, well it's not as if we're just letting you go home. You'll still be in custody, sort of. Look, Kakashi-san told you already, we don't believe you did anything wrong. Hell, Gaara-sama doesn't think you did it. You were set up."

Yes, he knew all that, but he also knew he had to stay in prison until the real killer was found, or someone else was implicated at least. "Why me?" He lamented. He only realized he'd spoken out loud when Tsunade answered his question.

"Don't you see, Iruka-sensei. The man that was killed had protection. Only a skilled chuunin or a jounin could've gotten past his guards without being noticed. But to frame a jounin would be much more difficult than to frame a chuunin. Jounin in general are a lot more distrusting. Tell me Iruka-sensei, do you have many traps in your home?"

"Well… No." He could hardly make his home a deathtrap, too many times little kids brought him unannounced visits. And why would he really? He wasn't a big fish as far as ninja go, just a teacher, and he couldn't honestly say that there was someone out there who disliked him. Well except for Mizuki, but from the state Iruka had seen him in last, Iruka didn't think Mizuki was able to walk, let alone break into anyone's apartment.

"See? Easy access." The Hokage continued. "You just fit the profile, Iruka-kun. Lower ranked, insignificant ninja, no family, no lover, no alibi. It could have been any other chuunin from the village."

Wow, his life sounded truly pathetic when she summed it up like that.

"Luckily, our mystery killer didn't make the effort to research your history, and more importantly, your friends. Our belief in your innocence was essentially based on nothing but your behavior in the past and character references from…certain people."

Naruto. They believed him because of his friendship with Naruto.

"Of course, we also didn't think you'd ever be stupid enough to leave your hitai-ate near the crime scene. Sandaime would never appoint a complete moron to teach our children."

True.

"Did you know that there was quite some opposition to Gaara-sama's appointment as Kazekage?" She went on.

He hadn't really thought about it, to be honest.

"There are some who'd prefer a less cordial relationship between our villages. If there was enough provocation from Konoha, Gaara-sama would not be able to stop a continuation of the hostilities. Powerful and feared as he may be, Gaara-sama is still bound to the council's wishes. There were calls for revenge from Sand Country after the murder, and it took a lot of effort on Gaara's part, together with your quick conviction to satisfy most of the council members. Do you see what I'm trying to say here, Iruka-sensei?"

Some jerk from sand wanted a war and Iruka got stuck in the middle because he was a mediocre ninja without a relationship...Yeah, he got it.

"You were just the easiest victim Iruka-sensei. All that was needed was a suspect who was clearly a Konoha ninja, whether you were a believable suspect or not wasn't even that important."

Iruka was getting a little fed up with this demeaning speech of hers. "Tsunade-sama, you just told me how important it was for me to be put in jail to appease the people from Sand. Don't you think they'd be a little annoyed if they found out I'm no longer in there? I don't think they'll buy the 'custody' thing."

"They won't know, Iruka-sensei, at least not for a while. You will stay inside the Uchiha complex. The guards in the prison will be told that you've been transferred. It's all they need to know and they know better than to say more than they should to anyone. So for all intents and purposes Iruka, you'll still be imprisoned. You just won't be in prison. Now on you go, both of you, I need to do some research."

The Hokage gave a short whistle and within seconds the two Anbu who had escorted him appeared. "Take him to UC13."

* * *

AN: Everyone who reviewed, thank you so much 


	7. Chapter 7

Thank you chibinecco for the quick beta

On to the story.

* * *

Iruka absentmindedly followed the Anbu, contemplating the course his life had taken over the last few weeks. 

Only a short time ago his life had been…normal. He taught his little brats, helped out at the mission desk, did paperwork for Shizune or Tsunade, his days blessedly uncomplicated.

Not that Iruka appreciated it at the time, of course. His students could be a bunch of little monsters. His hours were long, and he had no one to go home to besides an orange tabby.

Right now though, there was nothing he would rather do than go home to his boring little apartment and crawl into bed with his cat.

Instead, here he was, being escorted by trained killers to a place where an even more skilled killer had murdered _nearly_ his entire family. _Oh joy_. Iruka felt like a lamb being led to slaughter. The fact that this slaughterhouse had supposedly gone out of business a long time ago didn't make him feel any better.

Maybe the spirits of the Uchiha clan members still haunted the place, waiting for Sasuke to exact his revenge. He shuddered at the thought.

As Iruka mindlessly followed his guards through the village, his thoughts drifted to his newfound skill. He never expected to be someone special, someone unique. As a child, he would sometimes feel jealous of the kids that came from families with bloodline limits and special skills.

Iruka always worked hard to advance. He never had any tricks up his sleeve, no bugs or dogs, no shadow tricks or human meatball tactics. He was smart enough, but certainly no genius.

Had his parents known about this 'meditation talent'? He didn't think so. Iruka had never seen his mom or dad sit still long enough to even try to meditate. They were very hard workers, he remembered fondly, and they taught him that he should always try to be useful for his village. Even if Iruka never became an exceptional ninja, he could still protect his loved ones by making sure everything in the village was running as smoothly as possible.

Iruka did his best to live up to their expectations and become a useful person. He liked to think he made them proud.

Anyway, if the 'meditating' were a familial skill, they'd have told him about it before their death or at least made arrangements for someone else to tell him about it.

No, he decided. Neither of his parents had possessed this talent or if they did they hadn't known about it. Maybe for once, Iruka had a skill that was completely his own.

The voice of one of the Anbu startled him from his contemplations.

"Umino-san."

Iruka looked up and focused on his surroundings, they were close to their destination. The Uchiha compound was located on the outskirts of the village, as were many other powerful clan grounds. It afforded the clan a measure of privacy and at the same time served as a first line of defence against Konoha's enemies.

"I'm going to need to blindfold you now, Umino-san," the guard said. "You must go exactly where I guide you. When I tell you to stand still do not move a muscle, no matter what you hear, alright?"

Iruka nodded nervously. It sounded like the place was going to be heavily trapped. He got the feeling that breaking out of the normal prison, the regular way that is, would be easier then escaping from this place.

Iruka stood still as the Anbu with the cat mask silently bound a dark cloth over his eyes, blinding him completely. He was just wondering how he was supposed to follow them now, when the Anbu in front of him took his hand.

It felt strange holding hands with someone he didn't know, or at least, didn't recognise.

The next twenty minutes or so were harrowing. They would walk a short distance and then he'd be asked to stand still. Strange sounds filled the air as the guard in front of him disabled a trap then they'd walk a few paces and he'd have to wait again as the guard behind him reset it.

One time, he could swear something flew right past his face, something small and fast that whistled in the wind as it past him by. It sounded like a kunai or shuriken.

Then, he heard absolutely nothing for a while and he started worrying. Finally, he spoke up. They hadn't told him not to speak after all. "Anbu-san? Are you alright?"

"Yes, Iru- Umino-san."

Was it just Iruka or did the guard sound shaken?

After that, things went fine, and they soon reached what was apparently considered safe ground. They removed his blindfold, and Iruka blinked as the bright sunlight stung his eyes.

The Uchiha complex looked much too peaceful for an area that had such a violent history. He could imagine little kids running around here and tried not to think of the younger, happier version of Sasuke-kun he'd known for only such a short time.

Iruka followed quietly as his guards led him into one of the houses. They went up a staircase into a small hallway, stopping at a heavy wooden door that locked from the outside.

When one of the Anbu held the door open for him, Iruka walked inside and looked around curiously.

Well, as far as prison cells went, this was by far the nicest Iruka had ever seen. The room was large and bright, with white walls and a big window. The window would be booby trapped obviously, but at least he would have a nice view.

There was a large, comfortable-looking bed pushed against the wall on the right and there was another door to his left, probably leading to a toilet, maybe even a shower.

When Iruka looked behind him, the Anbu were gone and the door was closed and probably locked. Iruka saw no reason to try the handle, whether it was locked or not, he wasn't going anywhere.

Curiously, he padded over to the other door. He cringed at the horrible squeaking sound it made when he opened it. What he found inside made up for that little annoyance though. Not only was there a toilet, a washbasin, and a mirror; but there was a bath too, and a big one at that. His own apartment didn't even have a bath, just a shower. Now he could only hope there was hot water too. He held his breath as he turned the knob. Within seconds the flow became wonderfully warm.

Iruka had to fight the urge to cheer. He had gone from an uncomfortable cot in a sombre cell and short showers with other inmates to a luxurious bed in a bright room with his own personal tub. Talk about an upgrade. Apparently, Tsunade was trying to compensate him a little for all he had gone through in the last few weeks. If his life ever returned to normal, he vowed he would never complain about doing her paperwork again.

When Iruka walked out of the bathroom, he noticed something lying in front of the door to the hallway, something that hadn't been there before. Towels! Happily, he picked them up and brought them into the bathroom, stacking them in a corner. If this wasn't direct permission for him to use the bath, he didn't know what was.

Iruka turned the hot water on to fill the tub and started undressing. Once he was undressed, he studied himself in the mirror, barely resisting the urge to strike a pose.

He had gotten skinnier in jail, but his arm and stomach muscles had grown stronger because of his training. He rather liked the extra muscle definition it gave him; his body hadn't looked this trained in years. He was still tired from last night though, and it showed on his face. It made him look older.

He turned back to the bathtub and turned off the taps. With a blissful sigh, he carefully lowered himself into the hot water. It was perfect.

Iruka stayed in the tub until the water began to get cold. Reluctantly, he climbed out and dried himself off. Since he had nothing else, he put his old underwear back on.

Gods he was tired, the warm bath had only made him even sleepier than he already was. Iruka dropped to the bed, rubbing his face on the soft cotton sheets. Why not take a little nap? It wasn't like he had anything else to do. He didn't plan on making another mind trip before Kakashi-san or Tsunade-sama gave him permission to do it. It felt too much like spying now. His physical training could wait too, at least until he rested up a bit.

He mustered just enough energy to crawl beneath the sheets before falling into a deep sleep.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Iruka was abruptly woken by quiet voices outside his room. A quick look to the window told him that at least a few hours had gone by since he fell asleep. The light outside told him it was late afternoon.

He concentrated on the voices outside his door. They weren't talking loudly but he could make out every word. Iruka had good hearing, trained by years of listening in on little brats plotting pranks when his back was turned.

"He took a bath when he was brought in but he's been quiet after that." Probably one of his Anbu guards, Iruka guessed.

"Is he sleeping or meditating?"

Now that was definitely Kakashi's voice. Were they going to start Iruka's training already? Iruka hoped it could at least wait until tomorrow when, hopefully, the memory of Kakashi's firm backside wasn't so likely to pop into his mind every time he looked at the man. He concentrated on the conversation again.

"He _was_ definitely sleeping, Hatake-san. He was dreaming earlier."

Shit, if the Anbu knew he'd been dreaming he must have been moving, or making sounds or something. How embarrassingly unprofessional.

"Nightmares?" Kakashi asked.

Iruka prayed to the gods, any gods, all gods, that the Anbu wouldn't say that he'd been 'whimpering' or something like that. He'd die of embarrassment.

"I don't think so."

The words would have comforted Iruka, if it wasn't for the way in which they were said. The guard's voice was dripping with lecherous innuendo.

_Oh hell no_. He'd had one of _those_ dreams?

Iruka took a quick peek beneath the covers, checking, even though he already knew he wasn't hard. There was nothing sticky in his underwear either. Maybe the guard had misinterpreted some sound he'd made. Stupid perverts, they only heard what they wanted to hear.

"- in."

Damn it he'd only caught the last word of that sentence. 'In' what?

Then he heard the sound of locks being opened. _Duh_, Kakashi was coming in here. Briefly, Iruka thought about dashing out of bed to pull on the rest of his clothes. He'd never make it in time though, and stumbling around half dressed trying to get into his pants seemed more embarrassing than laying in bed in his underwear. He _had_ been sleeping after all. It was perfectly normal to sleep in your underwear.

He pulled the covers up to his chin and tried to look as if he'd just woken up.

A second later, the door opened and Kakashi walked in.

Iruka blinked at him sleepily. Kakashi's amused expression told him the jounin wasn't buying it.

"Had a nice _nap_, Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka decided not to acknowledge the way Kakashi said 'nap' or the look he gave Iruka while saying it.

Iruka just nodded. Yes, he'd had a nice nap, thank you very much.

Kakashi stood next to the bed, hands in his pockets, and stared down at Iruka. "So…" he began.

Iruka waited for the man to continue. He was probably going to ask whether Iruka was ready to start their training. Of course he was ready, he couldn't wait actually, it would be great to discuss his ability with someone and to see what-

"I never figured you to be a voyeur Iruka-sensei."

It took a few moments for the words to make sense to him. Kakashi never thought he'd be a voy- "What?!" Iruka choked out, sitting up abruptly and, incidentally, dropping the sheets. How dare that porn reading pervert call him a voyeur? He felt his blood rising to his cheeks.

"It's alright, Iruka-sensei, nothing to be embarrassed about. We all have our little kinks." Kakashi managed to give him a look that was both bored and lewd at the same time, eyes travelling over Iruka's bare chest.

Iruka finally got his breath back. "I am NOT a voyeur!" As soon as he'd said it, screamed it actually, he heard a loud snort from outside the door. He'd forgotten about the guards. Could the ground please swallow him whole, like, right now?

Kakashi looked at him with a bright smile. "If you aren't a voyeur, Iruka-sensei, then why did you watch three people get naked last night?"

Iruka gasped in shock and his mouth started talking before his brain could catch up. "How the hell do you-" _Aw hell_. He could see from the pleased look on Kakashi's face that he'd walked right into that one. Kakashi might have been suspicious about Iruka watching him shower, but the jounin had known jack shit about the state he'd seen Izumo and Kotetsu in. Until now that was.

With a groan, Iruka pulled the sheets over his head. He sat there, arms wrapped around his legs, and waited. All his blood seemed to have rushed to his face, surely the rest of his body was experiencing a shortage? Death by organ failure sounded pretty good to him right now.

He heard a pop outside of his little tent, and suddenly he found himself staring at Kakashi who was sitting cross-legged underneath the sheet with him.

"So…what are we doing under here?"

With a squeak, Iruka rolled out of the bed and darted into the bathroom. Quickly he slammed the door shut behind him and leaned against it. He was never going to be able to look Kakashi in the eye again. How the hell were they ever going to work together?

After taking a few deep, calming breaths, he grabbed the grey prison clothes, which he'd dumped in the corner of the bathroom earlier, and pulled them on. Once he was covered, he felt a little better.

Iruka eyed the bathroom door nervously. At some point, he was going to have to go out there again. He couldn't hide in the bathroom forever.

When he began to feel ridiculous, standing in the bathroom hiding from a jounin, he gathered his courage, willed his cheeks to return to a semi-normal colour and opened the door.

Kakashi was sitting on the bed, on top of the sheets this time, reading his Icha Icha.

Iruka quietly walked over and sat down next to the jounin. He took a deep breath and asked softly "How did you know about Izumo and Kotetsu?"

Kakashi cast him a quick amused look before looking back at his book again. "Educated guess. Those two are very popular amongst the guards of the village. They tend not to close their curtains. Their…energy…is admirable."

Iruka couldn't help but grin at that. Apparently his friends were so _active_ that Kakashi thought it very likely that Iruka had seen them get naked at some point yesterday evening. He didn't want Kakashi thinking he'd stayed for the whole show though. "I left before they really got into it. It felt weird to watch them."

Kakashi gave no indication of having heard him, eyes locked on his book.

Iruka hesitated a moment before opening his mouth again. He'd already confessed earlier though, so he might as well go all the way. "I watched you shower. I was curious and I didn't know I was _really_ watching you. I'm sorry."

Kakashi turned his head and looked into Iruka's eyes intently. Iruka could feel his heart beating in his throat as he waited for the jounin's reaction.

After a few moments, Kakashi smiled and Iruka released the breath he had been holding.

With a snap, Kakashi closed his book and slid it into the pocket of his flak jacket. "Apology accepted, Iruka-sensei. Now let's get started on your training, yes?"


	8. Chapter 8

Iruka opened his eyes and stared morosely at the jounin in front of him. "I can't do it when you're looking at me."

They were sitting cross-legged on the bed facing each other. Kakashi had his sharingan eye exposed and was studying Iruka intently.

For the last half an hour Iruka had been trying to reach the state of relaxation he needed to free his mind from his body, but the thought that Kakashi was sitting there staring at him made it completely impossible.

"Hnn. How long does it normally take you?" Kakashi asked him.

"In the beginning it took me hours, but it became easier every time I did it. The last few times it only took me a few minutes."

Kakashi nodded thoughtfully and got off the bed. "I need to use the facilities. Might take awhile. Keep trying in the meantime, you know the assignment."

Iruka was relieved when Kakashi walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. He was pretty sure the man wouldn't come out until he was sure Iruka was deep into his meditation.

Without Kakashi's eyes on him, Iruka was able to relax, and a short time later, he floated freely through the room. He was supposed to go to the house on the opposite side of the street and 'observe'. First though, he took a quick peek into the bathroom. Kakashi was sitting on the closed lid of the toilet reading his Icha Icha book.

_Pervert_. Still, Iruka thought, it was nice of him to leave me alone for a while.

He decided to get started on his assignment. Quickly he drifted outside, across the cobblestone road and through the door of the other house. Kakashi hadn't told him what exactly he was supposed to look for, so he did his best to memorise everything he saw.

The wooden floors were covered with a thin layer of dust and there were cobwebs on the walls. Two paintings decorated the hallway, but they were so faded and dusty that Iruka couldn't tell what they used to portray.

Iruka drifted through the entire house, remembering as much detail as he could. There was a crack in the kitchen window, a mouse or rat had gnawed a hole in one of the kitchen cabinet doors, the bathroom ceiling housed a _really_ big spider.

Aside from the filth that naturally collected in an abandoned house, the place was really neat. No, that wasn't right. These quarters were more than neat, they were empty. Someone had collected the personal items of whoever had lived here.

Finally, Iruka came to the last room. He slipped through the door effortlessly and halted in shock at what he saw. This room was nothing like the rest of the house. The floor was cluttered with toys. A box of crayons was lying on its side on the ground as if it had been dropped and the crayons were spread around the floor. A few old and dirty stuffed animals decorated the kid-sized bed. The whole room looked as if a child could come running through the door at any moment. Obviously, whoever had cleaned out the rest of the house hadn't wanted to enter this room.

Sad and a little uncomfortable Iruka decided that he'd seen enough. He left the house and was just about to return to his own room when a thought occurred to him. There hadn't been any tracks in the dust throughout the entire house. Either Kakashi had been very careful not to disturb anything, or he hadn't been in there at all.

Iruka decided to check one last thing before going back. He drifted to a window and searched for footprints on the ground underneath it. _Nothing_. The next window didn't provide any evidence of Kakashi's presence either.

When he reached the kitchen window Iruka finally found what he'd been looking for. The grass beneath it looked a little trampled. Carefully he checked every window. In the end he only found two windows that showed signs of someone looking into them recently: the kitchen and the kid's room. Of course Kakashi was entirely capable of studying the rooms without leaving a trace, so Iruka guessed that the marks he saw were left there for a reason, as some sort of test.

Iruka decided that he'd done the best he could and went back to his body.

Kakashi had left the bathroom and was sitting on the bed again, sharingan covered up. Naruto had told Iruka once about how the unnatural sharingan eye used up too much chakra for extended use.

Iruka concentrated on feeling the bed beneath him and tried to hear Kakashi's breathing. Slowly, his vision disappeared, and he moved back into his body.

He waited a few seconds, until he felt completely normal again, and then opened his eyes.

Kakashi smiled at him. "Welcome back, Iruka-sensei. So, what did you see?"

Iruka told the jounin everything he remembered, from the spider in the bathroom to the smudge in the dirt at the kid's windowsill.

At that last observation, Kakashi nodded with approval. Iruka guessed that he'd been right about the jounin putting those marks there on purpose.

"Well done, Iruka-sensei."

Iruka smiled at the praise. It wasn't every day that one received compliments from the legendary copy ninja.

"They brought dinner while you were _out_," Kakashi said, gesturing at a tray on the floor that Iruka hadn't noticed yet, "I suggest you eat and sleep and we'll continue this in the morning."

Kakashi made to leave.

"Kakashi-san, please wait a minute." Iruka called out quickly, he had a question he wanted answered before the jounin left. "Will Naruto be told about my relocation?"

Kakashi nodded. "I'll inform him myself. He won't be allowed to visit you here though."

Iruka had expected as much, but he still felt a sharp pang of disappointment. He was going to miss talking to Naruto and Kotetsu and Izumo. There was nothing he could do about it though. "I understand, Kakashi-san."

Kakashi studied Iruka quietly for a moment before turning around and leaving the room.

With a sigh Iruka crawled off the bed and picked up the tray with his food. _Beef ramen_. The dish had grown cold by now, but it still tasted good. After eating he rinsed the bowl out and neatly placed the tray near the door.

For a while, he amused himself by staring out the window and trying to see any activity. A couple of times he thought he saw something move, but it was becoming increasingly dark and he could never tell for sure.

When he thought enough time had past since dinner, he decided to train a little. He pretended to fight an invisible enemy, kicking and hitting the air, ducking imaginary punches until he was panting for breath. After doing his sit-ups and push-ups, he was exhausted and ready to sleep. He quickly cleaned up a little and crawled into bed. It took only seconds for him to fall asleep.

Even though Iruka woke early the next morning, a breakfast tray had already replaced the dinner tray from the night before. He enjoyed his rice, miso soup and rolled omelette, and waited for Kakashi.

Four hours later the jounin had yet to arrive.

Iruka wondered if he could scold Kakashi for being late. The man hadn't actually told Iruka to expect him at a certain time, but on the other hand, he _did_ say that they would continue their training in the morning. If Iruka had judged the sun correctly it was already past noon right now.

The door finally opened, and Iruka was about to make an irritated remark when he saw Kakashi. The jounin had a bloody scratch on the right side of his face just above the mask. He held a struggling orange tabby in his arms.

"Kuma!" Iruka quickly walked over and reached out for his cat. Kakashi gratefully dumped the hissing creature into Iruka's arms and pulled up his left sleeve to frown at another bleeding scratch.

"I still don't get why we had to bring that thing. Anything that hairball can sense I can sense too."

Iruka looked down to see who had spoken those words. Pakkun was sitting at Kakashi's feet, looking distinctly unimpressed with his master.

Kuma had calmed down a little after he recognised Iruka, but he still kept his eyes firmly locked on the little pug.

Iruka grinned at Kakashi. "He wouldn't have struggled as much if Pakkun wasn't there."

Kakashi scratched his head sheepishly. "I thought, since Pakkun is a nin-dog…"

Iruka laughed and shook his head. "In Kuma's opinion, if it looks like a dog, walks like a dog and smells like a dog…It's a dog. And he really, _really,_ doesn't like dogs."

Iruka walked to the bed, put Kuma down on it and scratched his belly until the cat reluctantly began to purr. He left the tabby lying on the bed and walked back to Kakashi. "Come on." He took the jounin's uninjured arm and pulled him to the bathroom. "Don't eat him," he called over his shoulder.

"What do you take me for?" Pakkun huffed.

"I was talking to Kuma," Iruka called back.

In the bathroom, Iruka turned on the tap and carefully cleaned the deep scratch on Kakashi's arm. He began to feel a little silly, treating a grown man as if he was one of his students, but he'd done it without thinking and Kakashi didn't seem to mind.

When the arm was done, he wet a corner of a towel and gently wiped the scratch on Kakashi's face. Iruka tried not to look surprised when the jounin reached up and pulled his mask down a little on that side so Iruka could clean all of it.

When he was finished, there was a moment of awkward silence before Kakashi spoke up. "Ah thank you, Iruka-sensei."

Iruka nodded. "You're welcome Kakashi-san, but umm why _did_ you bring Kuma? Pakkun is probably right. He will most likely be able to sense me just as well as Kuma."

"Meh, we don't know that for sure. It's one of the things I would like to test and practise with. And if we're going to need the cat anyway, he might as well stay here."

_Stay? _"You mean really stay? With me? You aren't taking him back with you later?"

Kakashi looked pleased at Iruka's excitement. "Yes, yes and no."

Iruka wanted to hug the man, but since he didn't know how Kakashi would feel about that he simply smiled at the jounin. "I really appreciate this, Kakashi-san."

"Yes, yes. Now let's get to work."

When Kakashi walked out of the bathroom Iruka couldn't keep his eyes from dropping to the man's behind. He shook his head, trying to get rid of the memory of that same butt, pale and smooth and dripping with water.

Since Iruka had apologised yesterday, Kakashi hadn't mentioned or even hinted at Iruka's peeping activities. Aside from the teasing in the beginning, Kakashi was being exceptionally nice to him. He'd even brought Kuma over, and Iruka knew full well that hadn't really been necessary. If things continued like this he would have no problems training with the man. It might even be fun.

Iruka sat down on the bed in the same position he'd used yesterday. Kakashi joined him. The jounin kept his eyes locked on the cat lying between them, deliberately, Iruka guessed, so that he'd feel more comfortable.

It worked. This time, despite Kakashi's presence, Iruka managed to leave his body within ten minutes.

He drifted through the room, watching the jounin fuss with Kuma and ignore Pakkun. It looked like he was waiting to be sure that Iruka was ready.

Unwilling to wait, Iruka decided to try something. He floated towards Pakkun, getting as close as he could get. Iruka had a real close-up view, _and Pakkun should really get his ears cleaned sometime_, before the nin-dog suddenly whirled his head around and looked searchingly in Iruka's direction. Iruka quickly pulled back and approached the dog from a different direction, Pakkun reacted sooner this time. More alert.

After the second, well…Geez what the hell should he call it? Mind-poke? Pakkun turned to his master and spoke. Iruka couldn't read dog lips, so it was anyone's guess what the dog had said, but it had the desired effect.

Kakashi stood up and studied the room with his sharingan eye. It didn't seem to be very successful though, because he looked right through Iruka and searched the rest of the room. After a few seconds, Kakashi gave up and lifted Pakkun into his arms. The jounin left the room, making sure that Kuma stayed locked inside and then quickly walked outside.

Iruka followed the pair as Kakashi quickly and efficiently made his way past the numerous traps guarding the compound. It occurred to Iruka that showing a 'prisoner' the way past the traps really wasn't the smartest thing to do. Iruka could use that knowledge to escape if he wanted. Not that he would ever actually do so of course, but still…

When they were past the booby trapped area, Kakashi sat Pakkun down and the nin-dog left with a brisk trot. Iruka followed him, leaving Kakashi at the edge of the Uchiha grounds.

That was the assignment Kakashi had given him. He was to follow Pakkun as far as he could. They were going to test exactly how far Iruka could reach with his skill. He knew that, in some way, he was connected to his body; otherwise he wouldn't 'wake up' when someone touched him or made a loud sound. So there had to be some point where he couldn't stretch himself any further.

Iruka stayed very close to Pakkun, and when the dog felt that he was keeping up easily, he increased his speed. Soon the pug was running for all he was worth. Iruka followed almost effortlessly.

Three hours later they were still going, but they were much slower, and not only because Pakkun was tired. It seemed that Iruka was reaching his limit. It was getting increasingly difficult to move forward and if he didn't concentrate for a moment he was even drawn backwards.

Finally, he couldn't move any further. It took all his effort just to stay in his spot. A few paces in front of him Pakkun had stopped too, waiting for Iruka to catch up. After a few moments the pug apparently decided that Iruka wasn't coming any more and he walked back a short distance until Iruka reached his side again.

He saw the dog's mouth move, but he had no idea what the pug was saying. That reminded Iruka, had he told Kakashi that he couldn't hear anything in this state? He'd just assumed that the jounin knew, but he should really mention it later, just to be sure.

Iruka felt relieved when Pakkun started the journey back home. They'd covered an impressive distance, Iruka noticed with some pride. This skill could be invaluable for spying in enemy territory.

By the time they made their way back to Kakashi, the sun was already on her way down.

Again, they made the journey past the traps and into the house. When they reached his room, he immediately concentrated on getting back into his body. He really wanted to tell Kakashi how far they'd come, even though Pakkun had probably already told him everything.

The process of getting himself into his body was becoming easier, just like getting out of it got easier with each try. But with the awareness of his body also came a feeling of extreme tiredness, just like the time when he'd visited the village. Maybe it hadn't been his lack of sleep that night that exhausted him so, maybe it was the distance he'd travelled. He felt himself slumping over and worried briefly about crushing his cat.

Then, there was nothing.

* * *

AN: Chibi, thanks you for the super quick beta 

And everyone who has been reading: thanks so much for your comments


	9. Chapter 9

"Iruka-sensei"

"Iruka-sensei, wake up."

Why the hell was someone shaking his shoulder and calling his name? He wanted to sleep. Someone else could go and teach his damn class, he was calling in sick today.

"Iruka-sensei"

Why wouldn't they just shut up and go away? "Shut up. Go 'way"

"Now Iruka-kun, that's no way to talk to your direct superiors."

Iruka buried his face in his pillow and mumbled, "Screw you. Lemme sleep."

"Umino-san!"

The cold demanding voice sounded too serious to be ignored, so with great reluctance Iruka twisted and stared blearily at the faces above him. His mind finally connected their pictures and voices with names and he shot up in bed, horrified.

He was going to get demoted back to genin.

"I'm so sorry Hokage-sama! I don't know what I was thinking. Please forgive me, I-"

Tsunade interrupted his rambling. "It's alright Iruka-sensei. I'll let you off this time, but don't think you'll get away with talking to your superiors like that when you're well again."

Iruka nodded, relieved at the lack of anger in her voice. Kakashi didn't seem insulted either, if anything, he looked amused. Then something occurred to him and he looked back at Tsunade. "I'm not well?"

The Godaime shook her head. "It seems your skill has a bit of a downside, Iruka-sensei. What is the last thing you remember?"

Iruka thought about it for a moment, he remembered making the trip with Pakkun and coming back and then the extreme tiredness when he re-entered his body. "I remember getting back into my body and keeling over, but nothing after that, Hokage-sama."

"Yes, well, that was yesterday evening. It is now almost midnight again, so you've slept for a night and a day and guessing from your reaction when we tried to wake you, you are _still_ tired."

"Oh," Iruka didn't know what else to say. When he started out with this meditation skill he _had_ worried about his mental health, but he'd never considered the possibility that it might affect him physically.

Something moved near Iruka's blanket-covered toes. Kuma. So he hadn't crushed his cat. That was good.

The tabby stretched languidly, scraping its nails across the blanket and of course getting them stuck in the fabric. Two annoyed pulls later Kuma had his feet back where he wanted them and the blanket had a couple of loose threads. Typical.

"We have a bit of a theory," the Hokage continued. "It seems that in a deep state of meditation you can extend your chakra outside of your body to make it function as an extension of your eyes. We know you remain attached to your body and we think _that_ is the cause of your extreme exhaustion. The further you go the more chakra you use. This wouldn't be a problem if you were like Naruto, with almost endless supplies, but your chakra reserves just aren't that great. When you go too far your body has too little chakra left to function effectively and you damage yourself."

_Whoa_, that sounded serious, and he'd been going in and out of his body like it was a game. "What form does this damage take, Hokage-sama?" He asked anxiously. What if he'd unknowingly been destroying his organs or something?

"Nothing your body won't be able to fix on its own, Iruka-sensei. Kakashi-san's test has already shown that your body will stop your progress before it becomes life-threatening. Still, we'll have to take this effect into account in your future missions. If you're spying in enemy territory you can't afford to be unconscious for twenty-four hours or more."

No, he couldn't. He'd like to live to see his next birthday if at all possible.

Well… at least he didn't have to worry about accidentally killing himself. If he understood correctly, travelling only a small distance wouldn't harm him. "So the training with Kakashi-san won't be harmful as long as I don't go too far away?" he checked.

Tsunade nodded. "It should be safe, yes. You have already established your limit, so there is no need to repeat that particular exercise anytime soon, any other exercises closer to your body should be fine. Once you're fully recovered, you and Kakashi may resume your training."

Iruka nodded and then yawned. He was still so very tired. He couldn't believe he'd been sleeping for almost twenty-four hours and he still felt like crap.

Tsunade eyed him intensely, curiously, like he was a patient with a particularly interesting and heretofore unknown disease.

It freaked him out.

Finally she shook her head with an expression that was somewhere between amused and amazed. "You've been groomed for this since the day you were born…"

"Excuse me?"

"I've been looking through some of the former Hokage's most secret files, Iruka-sensei, and I had to look _very_ hard, I might add." She paused for a moment, seemingly going for dramatic effect, but went on when Iruka didn't do anything more than blink sleepily. "Seems your talent isn't unique to you personally."

Iruka sat up at those words. There were more people who could do this? People from Konoha? Or, gods forbid, from a rival village?

"How much have your parents told you about their missions for this village Iruka?"

"My parents?" She couldn't possibly mean…they would have told him something, wouldn't they? Surely he would have known somehow? He never saw his parents meditate; they were always working, or teaching him or playing with him.

"Hmm very little it seems." Tsunade muttered. "Not that I expected they would have. You were only a child after all, too young to trust with information that sensitive…"

"The trait runs in your family, Iruka-san," she said bluntly, "on your mother's side."

His mother…Images of family meals and childhood games warred with the image of her bloodied and broken body after it was brought back to the village and Iruka had escaped from the chuunin whose job was to keep him from seeing her.

"Didn't you ever find it strange that the Hokage made so much time for you, when half the village was in shambles and almost half of our capable ninja's was either dead or injured?" Tsunade asked him.

Iruka couldn't say he'd ever actually thought about it like that. He thought the Hokage liked him, cared about him…For a moment he felt horribly betrayed.

But then he remembered.

He remembered sitting on Sandaime's lap as a child and playing with his beard. He remembered showing the man his very first kunai. The looks of affection Sandaime gave him, the pats on his back, the comfort after his parents deaths…there was no deception there. Even if Sandaime had an ulterior motive, that didn't mean he didn't care about Iruka. He did. Iruka knew in his heart that Sandaime cared about him, maybe even loved him. As a person, not as a potential weapon.

Just because Iruka got paid to teach his students didn't mean he didn't care about them.

Just because he wanted to be a comforting influence in Naruto's life, to keep the beast locked inside, didn't mean he didn't love the boy.

He looked at the Godaime calmly. "He cared."

Tsunade nodded absently. "Undoubtedly. He was proud of you. I've read his notes."

She stared at him again. "Tell me, Iruka-kun, why did you decide to become a teacher? I've seen your records, if you had continued your training, you might have made jounin eventually. You're no Shikamaru, but you were certainly cunning enough to be a successful ninja."

Why _had_ he started teaching? He'd sort of just rolled into it through a series of coincidences. He'd just come back from a mission that had gone a little awry. He'd broken his wrist. Not that that was a very serious injury for a ninja… A little chakra healing and a good night's sleep and he'd have been ready to go again. But the Hokage thought he'd screwed up because he was stressed.

Iruka had argued and needled and whined about being forced to take a vacation, he needed money badly if he was to keep his apartment. But the Hokage had been unmovable on the issue. And then that spot for a teacher's assistant had opened up and Sandaime had allowed him to at least try out for that job.

He still thought it was a miracle he'd gotten it. They'd been looking for someone with experience with kids, and other than having been one quite recently, well…he had none.

Still, he'd gotten the job, and he'd liked it. And the kids seemed to like _him_ too.

His forced vacation was only supposed to last for a month, but one of the academy teachers got promoted to be the Hokage's assistant, which left the academy short one teacher. It was his duty as a Konoha ninja to help out where he could. And even though he would have liked to advance in rank, he stayed and taught. After all, the youth of the village is the future.

'_Do what you can, and always be loyal to the village__.' _Loyalty was the most important trait a ninja could have. More important than skill or strength. His parents taught him that, and Iruka lived by it.

He looked up when Tsunade flicked his shoulder. What were they talking about again? Oh right. Teaching… "I like kids" That was all the explanation she needed to hear.

"Hnnn," Tsnuade smirked down at him, with a face that said _'I know something you don't know'_.

Iruka was too tired to wonder about it. He yawned.

"Iruka-kun, You need to drink a few cups of water and have something to eat. After that you can go back to sleep. The next time you wake up you should feel fine. If you don't, have me notified." She brushed a strand of her away from his face almost fondly. "Several people will be notified of your new status. No details of course. Someone will be watching over you at all times. You are now one of the most important assets of this village Iruka-kun. Take care of yourself."

Iruka bemusedly watched her leave. The importance of his skill was only just starting to hit home. People were going to be watching over him. _Him_ specifically. He was used to having the faint feeling of being protected by the guards that watched over the village day and night, but he'd never been singled out like this.

Usually he was one of the people who were guarding, rather than being guarded. He was one of the expendable ones, who gave up their life for the sake of others. It felt strange to have the roles turned around like this.

And his mom…his mom must have gone through exactly the same things as he had. Well except for being put in prison of course.

He'd never noticed their house being guarded. He wondered how his father had dealt with his mom being followed around all the time. How the hell did they even manage to have Iruka? Although, he supposed that eventually one would become used to the idea of always having someone watching…

Maybe if his dad had been higher ranked it wouldn't have been necessary for his mother to be guarded very closely…Maybe…maybe his dad wasn't as mediocre a ninja as Iruka had always thought? Of course no kid should ever think about their father as being mediocre… and Iruka felt pretty guilty for doing so…But what was he supposed to think?

His friends' dads had been away from home a lot, and were covered in scars. Iruka's dad didn't have any horrific scars and the few he did have were explained away with stories about little accidents.

Iruka couldn't remember him being gone for days at a time either. His dad left for work and usually came back the same evening. Which was great; Iruka loved his dad. It wasn't something he could brag to his friends about though, and back then having a cool dad seemed more important sometimes than having a reliable one.

It was shocking to realize that he knew so very little about either of his parents. And now he would never have the chance to-

"Here drink this."

A glass of water was shoved under his nose and Iruka looked up, startled. He'd forgotten the jounin was there.

He took a sip of water and only then noticed how thirsty he was. He drained the glass within moments and was surprised when the glass filled itself again. He looked up just in time to see Kakashi make the last signs with his hands.

A mini water-summoning jutsu…Cool. He could use that in class. Or he could have at least…

Maybe he should just go back to sleep; depressing thought seemed determined to creep up on him tonight.

It took another glass of water and a bowl of soup before Kakashi was satisfied enough to let him get back to sleep.

Maybe in the morning Iruka wouldn't feel like an unobservant fool and a crappy son.

* * *

It was still dark outside when Iruka woke up again. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and looked around the room. The pale moonlight coming from the window was just bright enough for him to make out the shadow of a man sitting on a chair on the other side of the room.

He was chewing on a stick.

"Genma-san?"

"Good morning, Iruka-san."

"What are you doing here?"

"Kakashi is finishing up some business," Genma answered his unasked question, "I'm guarding you for the moment."

"Is that really necessary?" Iruka wondered out loud.

Genma's senbon twitched in his mouth as he grinned. "Probably not. Maybe Tsunade thought you'd like someone else to talk to beside our esteemed copy-nin."

Was it just Iruka or did 'esteemed copy-nin' come out sounding somewhat disparaging? "It's always nice to talk to you, Genma-san." Iruka said carefully.

"So…" There was a rather awkward silence before Genma continued. "How has life been treating you?"

Well, that was a loaded question if he'd ever heard one. Objectively speaking he could say…that the last few weeks of his life had been pretty damned bad. But then, they were nowhere near as bad as they could have been and things were looking up for him.

"Pretty good I guess. You?"

Genma twirled the senbon around in his mouth and nodded.

Iruka took that to mean life had been 'pretty good' for the special jounin as well. Whatever that might mean.

"You getting along with Kakashi?"

Iruka smiled. "Yeah, he's been pretty nice so far. He even brought Kuma over for me."

Genma gave a short humourless laugh. "Wow, he's really making quick work of you."

Iruka frowned at the strange comment. "What do you mean?"

"Don't be obtuse Iruka. By the way, I would just go for it. He's certainly attractive enough and he's good too. Lots of _experience_."

Iruka blinked. Was Genma implying…It certainly sounded like it. But Kakashi hadn't once said or done anything unprofessional so far.

Of course there was that very first night, when the Anbu made him leave his blanket behind. Kakashi had seen him nude then. But that had been for security purposes right? Except didn't Kakashi already suspect by then, that Iruka hadn't done anything? So why then?

And then the jounin had found out that Iruka watched him shower; And he'd been surprisingly forgiving about that…

Did Kakashi think Iruka was simply going to jump into bed with him if the jounin was nice to him? Iruka blushed and scratched the bridge of his nose. He was not some kind of conquest, and he wasn't going to sleep with the man just because he'd brought him his cat and acted like a decent human being-

"Well I guess I'll be going back to my post outside, Iruka-san. Nice talking to you."

With a pop Genma disappeared, leaving Iruka with just his cat and his thoughts for company.

So ummm, yeah, what has it been? Two years? Since I last updated this story? So sorry...hides under a rock


	10. Chapter 10

Iruka looked at his trainer pensively.

For four days now they had been doing different kinds of exercises, training Iruka to enter his meditative state faster and training him to stay 'out' despite loud sounds near his body.

Kakashi hadn't once made an inapropriate remark, or even acted flirtatious. The jounin was friendly and polite, but nothing he did indicated any _special _interest in Iruka.

Maybe Genma was wrong. Or maybe Genma had simply been lying. There seemed to be some sort of animosity between him and Kakashi. Yesterday though, when Iruka had innocently commented about Genma, Kakashi had shown nothing but polite interest. No dislike, no double entendres, nothing but the normal amount of interest one would show for a colleague.

"Alright, Iruka-sensei, go ahead."

Startled out of his thoughts, Iruka nodded and closed his eyes.

Kakashi's presence was no longer any hindrance for him. He'd gotten so used to having the man there when he meditated that he could move in and out of his body just as easily as when he was alone.

They'd been making progress. Iruka was getting used to loud sounds near his body. In the beginning it was a real struggle not to get sucked back into his body, but Kakashi had told him that the jounin could now clap his hands, loudly, and Iruka didn't even notice it any-

"Whoah!"

Iruka blinked dizzily. He's been pulled back faster than any of the days before.

"Damn," he muttered and looked at Kakashi apologetically. "I thought we were making progress?"

"We are."

Iruka snorted. "What did you do then? Set off a bomb?"

Kakashi shrugged. "The sounds of war _are_ something you should get used to."

The jounin was probably right about that, although it did worry Iruka somewhat that he would be completely unaware of any sounds near his body. It went completely against his instincts and against the training he'd had.

"Try again."

Iruka nodded and minutes later he was again floating around outside.

He was expecting the pull this time and tried to fight against it; tried to force his body to ignore whatever it was that tried to 'wake him up'.

It was no use. The pull was too strong. He opened his eyes reluctantly.

"Again"

Again, again, again. It seemed like he heard that word a million times that morning, and by late afternoon he was sick of it, and sick of training, and sick of Kakashi.

"Again"

"No!" Iruka looked down in shame, he hadn't meant to actually protest out loud. This training was necessary if he wanted to go on missions, and his village needed the extra edge he could give them. "Sorry, I'll go a-"

"No, you're right. It's time for a break. You don't have to learn this in one day. It's time to eat anyway."

They had dinner together in comfortable silence. When he'd emptied his plate Iruka looked up at Kakashi. "It's not going very well today, is it?"

Kakashi shook his head. "You're a ninja. Your body was trained to instantly react to outside stimuli. You can't expect that training to disappear overnight."

He supposed the jounin was right about that, but it still felt a little bit like failure. "Shall we start again?"

Kakashi shook his head. "I have some things to take care of. You should relax for a while. I want to do some sparring this evening."

"Oh," Iruka said, feeling somewhat disappointed at being left alone the entire evening. "Have fun."

"With you, Iruka-sensei." Kakashi clarified. "You didn't think I'd be neglecting the physical part of your training, did you?"

To be honest, that was exactly what Iruka had been expecting. But he guessed it made sense. If he was discovered on a mission he would have to be able to fight his way out. But damn, he was going to have his arse kicked tonight. It had been ages since he'd fought anything other than an imaginary opponent.

Iruka didn't know how long Kakashi had been away. He'd fallen asleep on top of the covers of his bed maybe ten minutes after the jounin had left. The exercises they were doing might not be physically demanding but mentally they were pretty exhausting. Iruka was glad for the extra sleep. Late at night when his training was over and he was alone in the room, his mind drifted to his parents and Sandaime. It kept him awake.

It was Pakkun that had woken him up just now.

"You're going to wake him up right?"

"I was."

Iruka sleepily turned over and stared at the jounin and the nin-dog. Pakkun was standing on his bed, right next to Kuma who, by now, had gotten used to the dog and thus ignored him as the lesser being he was.

Kakashi was sitting on the side of the bed, which was a little disquieting. Iruka should have woken up long before he'd made it that far into the room. Elite jounin or no, with someone this close Iruka should have been alert and awake seconds after the man entered. "Did you-"

Kakashi guessed his thoughts before he'd spoken them. "You're used to my presence. By going in and out of meditation so often with me right there, you've taught your body to accept me as safe."

Iruka frowned. He didn't like the idea of someone being able to sneak up on him like that. He trusted Kakashi. As much as he trusted most of his colleagues, but he'd trusted Mizuki too and that betrayal had hit him very hard.

"It's a necessary evil," Kakashi said, "Come on, work to do, Iruka-sensei."

The jounin tossed him a small pouch and Iruka felt the kunai and shuriken inside. He swallowed. If he was honest with himself he had to admit he was slightly nervous about fighting the jounin. He knew of course that Kakashi was skilled enough not to do any damage, or well…no permanent damage anyway. But that didn't mean he wouldn't hurt him.

Pain was a useful tool during training. It was the fastest way of teaching someone to do something, or not to do something. People do a lot to avoid pain. It wasn't a method Iruka practiced in his classroom, but he had no idea how Kakashi thought about the technique.

He'd never heard Naruto complain about it, but then the boy was more likely to complain about a lack of ramen than he was about a broken bone, and the boy healed to fast to leave much in the way of bruising.

Iruka straightened his shoulders and petted Kuma before following the jounin out of the room. Iruka could take a little pain. He could take a lot of pain actually; he'd proven that to himself many times. Of course, that still didn't mean he had to like it.

Kakashi took him through the Uchiha compound, and then past some traps until they reached a large forested area.

They started with a run.

At least, that's what Kakashi called it. For Iruka it was a full-out race just to keep up. He was panting and out of breath before Kakashi was even ready to start their spar.

Without giving him any time to catch his breath, Kakashi launched at him.

The fight that followed was one of the most physically demanding taijutsu matches Iruka had ever had.

Rationally, Iruka knew Kakashi had to be holding back, but it certainly didn't feel like it. The jounin was so damn fast it was almost impossible to get a hit in.

When he did though…

Speed had never been Iruka's forte, but when he hit someone, he packed quite a punch. He had the build of his father. Not tall, but quite broad-shouldered and he built muscle quite easily. 'A little powerhouse' his mom had called his dad sometimes.

It was both flattering and insulting when Kakashi looked surprised after Iruka smashed him head-first into a tree.

Iruka had little time to feel proud or embarrassed though, because after that hit the jounin really let loose.

"Stop," Iruka finally panted after being kicked down from a high tree branch. He'd landed on his back, not even having the energy to turn mid-air anymore. He'd managed to cushion his fall a little with his last chakra-reserves, but he was done for. "Stop"

"Tired already, Iruka-sensei?" The jounin taunted him; probably trying to get him to go just a little bit further.

It was a valid tactic. For use on twelve year olds.

"I know my limits, Kakashi-_sensei_," Iruka had to stop for a moment to take a breath, "if you want me to be able to walk tomorrow," pant, "we need to stop now."

Kakashi smirked down at him. "I wasn't planning on sparring with you tomorrow."

Oh, so in other words, Iruka didn't necessarily have to be able to walk tomorrow? He gave the jounin a look that said _'screw you'_. "I'm stopping," he panted.

Of course, Iruka was acutely aware that just because he was stopping, that didn't have to mean Kakashi was going to stop too. But that would sort of defeat the purpose of training.

Unless of course, he wanted to toughen Iruka up.

As he stood there, looming over Iruka, it looked for a moment as if Kakashi was planning on doing just that, his visible eye examining Iruka intensely.

It made him uncomfortable.

But Iruka wasn't as easily intimidated as a twelve year old. "Why do you hide your face?"

Kakashi reached out his hand to pull Iruka up. "Training is over."

Iruka grinned up at the jounin and after a second Kakashi smiled back; a genuine smile that made wrinkles in the corner of his eye.

Iruka grabbed Kakashi's hand and let himself be pulled up. It was gratifying to feel that Kakashi's hand was just as sweaty as his own was.

That night Iruka slept like a baby and the next morning he could hardly walk.

* * *

They continued their exercises. Iruka didn't know what had caused his setback, whether it was a relapse on his side or Kakashi really was making war-worthy noises next to him, but slowly, over a couple of days he learned to resist the pull again and yesterday he had hardly noticed when Kakashi disturbed his body.

This morning they'd started the exercise again and Iruka drifted through the Uchiha compound, looking at houses, studying animals. He'd even followed a mouse into its nest, only to discover nine squeaking baby mice inside.

It was nearly noon when he realized he hadn't felt anything all morning. Iruka would like to think that he was just that good. But he couldn't help imagining Kakashi, sitting on the bed reading Icha Icha and not doing any sort of training with Iruka at all.

He wasn't supposed to look in on his body. Kakashi told him that in mission situations he wouldn't be able to see his body either and they had to keep their training as close to real situations as they could. But it wouldn't matter much now, right? Iruka had already pretty much mastered the skill of ignoring sound.

Mind made up, Iruka drifted back into the room.

He stopped in shock.

If he could have moved any part of his body in this state his mouth would have fallen open in shock and outrage.

The jounin was not reading Icha Icha. He was sitting there, on the bed, _touching Iruka_.

Iruka watched helplessly as the jounin trailed his hands over Iruka's body, tugged his ponytail, poked his belly. Then the jounin picked up a kunai and lifted up Iruka 's arm.

Iruka concentrated fiercely for a few moments, opened up his eyes and slapped the kunai away from his hand. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

Kakashi had the gall to smirk at him "I was wondering when your curiosity would take over."

"Are you crazy?! You perverted- How can you- What the hell do you think-" Iruka was so outraged he couldn't even finish his sentence.

"Do it." Kakashi's look changed from amused to deadly serious.

"Do what?!"

"Move outside your body."

"What? Now?! After you just- You can't expect me to-"

"Do it, Iruka-sensei"

"But-"

"Now"

There was no trace left of the friendly man he'd been working with the last week. This Kakashi was the one his enemies had to face when he came after them.

It chilled Iruka to the bone.

Ignoring the fear twisting in his gut, he forced his eyes closed and tried to obey. With his mind in turmoil it took him much longer than usual.

When he'd finally done it he was almost afraid to look back at the bed. When he did he saw that the man had whipped out his Icha Icha and for once Iruka wasn't annoyed by it. Kakashi reading Icha Icha was much less threatening than the Kakashi he'd witnessed moments before.

The jounin finally put his book away again and studied Iruka's body intently. Apparently satisfied that Iruka had indeed 'left the building', he reached out.

Iruka watched nervously as Kakashi gently put a hand around his back and then put his other arm underneath his legs. When the jounin stood up, he lifted Iruka as if he weighed nothing.

He watched, surprised and nervous as Kakashi carried his limp body out of the room and out of the building. During all of it he felt nothing but a very faint pull.

The jounin entered another building, another room with a bed and put Iruka down as gently as he'd picked him up. Then made a vague hand gesture.

'_Come' _

Iruka assumed it was meant for him.

A few moments later he blinked his eyes open and looked up at the jounin uncertainly. "What did you just do?"

"I relocated."

"Oh" Iruka said intelligently. And then the coin dropped. "_Oh_"

Iruka felt like banging his head against a wall. He was a ninja; he knew how often you had to move around in the field to avoid detection. But it never occurred to him that if Iruka was busy spying, someone else had to do the moving for him.

* * *

AN: So ummm, surprise? Not two years.


	11. Chapter 11

Iruka looked down, avoiding Kakashi's eyes, and plucked little balls of fuzz from the blanket he was sitting on. "Sorry," he muttered.

Then a feeling of rebellion rolled over him and he looked up sharply. "You could have just told me".

Kakashi shrugged. "I could have. It would have taken you far longer to get this far though."

Iruka rolled his eyes, ignoring his lingering unease. "How would you know?"

The jounin's eye crinkled and all traces of the cold, efficient killing machine subsided. He stretched out his hand and Iruka cringed slightly when it dropped onto his shoulder and then slid down his arm. It was a completely innocuous touch, but Iruka had to suppress a shiver all the same.

Kakashi's hand lingered on his elbow. "Does it make you nervous when I touch you, Iruka-sensei?"

The hand slid from his elbow across his chest to his other arm, leaving a trail of tingling warmth behind.

"Does it make you uncomfortable?"

Iruka swallowed and lowered his eyes again.

Kakashi's finger flicked his nose as he pulled his hand back and Iruka jerked away, startled.

"Does it _ruin_ your _concentration_, sensei?" Kakashi said with a lazy grin.

Iruka felt heat rise to his face and half-heartedly tried to smack the jounin with a pillow. "Ass," he muttered.

So maybe Kakashi was right, maybe he had learned faster this way, not distracted by thoughts of the jounin poking, prodding and petting him. Iruka cleared his throat and wracked his brain for a neutral conversation topic. Grasping at straws he brought up something that had crossed his mind the evening before. "I think we should create some signals."

Kakashi's eyebrow rose. "Signals?"

"A code of some sort to communicate with Pakkun"

"You've got some suggestions?"

Relieved that Kakashi seemed willing to drop the awkward subject Iruka started with his first idea. "Well, he can sense where I'm at approximately. Maybe my location in relation to his own body could tell him something?"

Iruka tension eased bit by bit as he and Kakashi discussed several ways for him to relay short messages to the nin-dog while Iruka was 'out'.

Kakashi finally halted their discussion by declaring that it was getting late. He deposited Iruka back at his own building. Tomorrow, the jounin said, they would resume their training and have another spar in the evening.

_oh joy_

The next morning, after they installed themselves in their usual places on the bed, Iruka crossed his arms and looked Kakashi in the eye determinedly. "I'm staying to watch this time."

Kakashi snorted.

Iruka decided to take it as permission.

Kakashi rolled his eye and made a shooing motion with his hand. "Go."

Moments later Iruka hovered in the middle of the room looking at his own body and the jounin sitting in front of it.

It was strange to see someone poke and prod him and not be able to feel anything. After a while even the faint pulling sensation disappeared.

Things got a lot harder when Kakashi started with the kunai. Soft pinpricks at first, until finally the jounin increased the pressure enough to break the skin. Iruka's body tried to pull him back in at that but most of the time he managed to fight it.

Over the next few hours Iruka's arms slowly turned into a bloody mess as they practised. He felt proud when even a shallow cut across his entire lower arm didn't cause him to break his jutsu anymore.

Kakashi seemed pleased too. He finally put the kunai aside, took Iruka's left arm between his hands and-

_Whoah_

Iruka was pulled back into his body so fast he was left dizzy and disoriented. He took a gulping breath and tried to stave off sudden nausea. "What did you do?" He asked when he thought he could speak without puking.

Kakashi looked mildly bewildered at his sudden 'awakening'. "I tried to heal you." He took Iruka's hand again and Iruka felt a pleasant warmth throughout his entire arm. The wounds on his arm healed quickly and some dried up blood was all that remained from their hours of training.

"Go out again," Kakashi said, "there's something I want to try."

Iruka obeyed and watched curiously as Kakashi simply put his hand on Iruka's. All was fine until suddenly, just as abruptly as before, Iruka was jerked back into his body.

They tried eleven times before Kakashi gave up.

Iruka sat quietly on the bed while Kakashi held his arm and pensively rubbed his thumb up and down on the underside of Iruka's arm.

Finally the jounin dropped the appendage and stood up. "I think this jutsu of yours is disturbed when someone tries to influence your chakra somehow."

Iruka frowned. "Is that a bad thing?"

Kakashi seemed to think about it. "Not exactly bad,"he answered, "unexpected though. It would have given us an advantage if you could stay 'out' if we were captured. Then again, I would expect the enemy to use physical violence first anyway, which should already warn you something is wrong."

The jounin dropped down on the bed again. "Try again, one more time. I want to test something."

Iruka closed his eyes and did as he was told. He watched from a small distance as Kakashi gave the slightest tap against the skin of his wrist. This time he was able to fight the pull, but just barely.

He waited a few moments to see if Kakashi was going to do anything else. When the jounin didn't move he retreated back into his body. "That worked," he said.

Kakashi nodded. "We'll use this as a sign. If you feel this while we are in the field…something is wrong. You'll retreat enough to see what's going on and you'll alert Pakkun if necessary."

Iruka nodded.

Kakashi stood up again and walked to the door. "I have some things to do. I'll be back tonight. We'll spar."

Iruka winced mentally. He was still sore from their last match and he wasn't particularly looking forward to a repeat performance yet.

After the jounin left, Iruka looked around. There really wasn't much to do in one room, so he decided to take a nap. Better to be rested for their fight tonight. Kami knew he needed the advantage.

He slept until something woke him up. _Dinner_.

After he ate he did some gentle stretches to warm up for the fight later. He was going to try to get at least two good hits in this time.

Now if only the jounin would get here…Iruka was getting a little sick of waiting.

The sky outside slowly turned darker but the jounin didn't appear. Iruka sighed and stared morosely out the window at the pale half moon. He was annoyed but not really surprised. He'd heard so many stories from Naruto and Sakura about their jounin-sensei and his strange propensity for making them wait...

It wasn't until after midnight that Iruka realized the jounin really wasn't coming and even though he hadn't really been looking forward to having his ass kicked again, he still felt strangely disappointed. It was the feeling he got when he'd made plans to go out with someone and they cancelled at the last possible moment. With his plans for the evening gone, he simply didn't know what to do with himself.

Finally he turned of the light, dropped back down on his bed listlessly and pulled up the blanket to cover him.

Recognizing the signs of his owner settling down for the night, Kuma jumped unto the bed and nestled down at his feet.

Iruka turned restlessly. Sleep wouldn't come.

His thoughts turned to his parents…to his mom especially. It was truly painful to realize he'd known so little about her, but the more he thought about it the more comfort he found in knowing he shared her gift. This ability, _his_ ability, was something only the two of them had and in some ways he felt more connected to her now than he ever had before.

He would make them proud. Serve his village the best way he could. He would follow the path Sandaime had set him on, because the more he thought about it, the more he realized that the third had done everything in his power to keep Iruka safe so maybe, one day, he would follow in his mother's footsteps.

* * *

The next morning the sound of the door opening woke him up. He blinked in the early morning sunlight and turned his head. " You're la-"

He fell silent when instead of Kakashi Genma walked through the door with an annoyed looking Pakkun at his side.

"Good morning, Iruka-san," the pug said pleasantly.

Iruka rubbed the sleep from his eyes and sat up against the headboard. "Morning Pakkun, Genma-san".

Genma studied him intently. "Good morning," he finally answered.

An uncomfortable silence fell over the room after their short exchange.

Finally Iruka awkwardly broke the silence. "How have you been Genma-san?"

"Good."

"I'm glad."

"…"

Iruka wiggled his blanket-covered toes near Kuma's nose and watched him bat at them. "I was expecting to see Kakashi-san," he said when the silence lingered again.

The senbon shifted in Genma's mouth. "He had some business to attend to," he said at the same time Pakkun answered, "He was sent on an emergency mission last night."

Iruka watched as the pug and the senbon-chewing jounin glared at each other.

After a few tense seconds Pakkun walked over and jumped unto the bed. "We'll be training together today Iruka-san."

"I'll be outside if you need me," Genma said, turning abruptly and leaving the room.

Iruka blinked. _That was weird. _

He turned his attention back to Pakkun when a small paw poked his stomach. "Focus, Iruka-sensei. Or we'll never master our signalling code. Now I sense you best when you are near my ears, so I suggest my left ear for signalling 'Get help' and my right for the need to retreat".

* * *

Alright guys, I know it isn't much, but hey, it's a start right? I think it's been about a year and a half since I updated this fic. Sorry about that. It's hard to get back into the story after such a long time but please bear with me.


	12. Chapter 12

Iruka trained with Pakkun for a couple of hours, trying to find which signals worked best. They worked comfortably together. He regarded Pakkun more as a fellow ninja, or even as a friend, than as a nin-dog.

The time passed quickly but after they ate their lunch the pug seemed to become fidgety and distracted.

"Is everything alright, Pakkun?" Iruka asked.

Pakkun shook his head. "Nothing to worry about, Iruka-sensei" He sat quietly for a few seconds, and then his left ear twitched. "I have to go."

Iruka nodded. He didn't want to push for information, but he was a little concerned. "Is Kakashi-san alright?"

"He's fine, he's-"

_Poof_

Iruka blinked when Pakkun disappeared into thin air.

He hoped the jounin really was okay. The man was a genius, he tried to reassure himself, he'd be fine.

Determinedly putting Kakashi out of his mind, or trying to at least, he looked around the room for something to do.

Fifteen minutes later he was still looking.

He felt a little bit lost. With Pakkun gone he didn't quite know what to do with himself. Kakashi and the pug had been filling up his days with training and Iruka had forgotten what had driven him to meditation in the first place, utter boredom and his thoughts running through his mind in endless circles.

He could ask if Genma wanted to come in for a chat, but after this morning's awkward conversation he didn't really want to.

Meditation was out...

…

Or was it? What harm could it do really? Tsunade had raised his clearance level. What were the chances of him finding out something he wasn't allowed to know? Maybe he could just go to the forest for a little while… It would be training. If Genma came in and found him meditating he would just say he was practising. After all no one had forbidden him to leave his body without supervision, neither explicitly nor implicitly.

Or better yet, he could do it while lying down on the bed so it seemed like he was sleeping. No one had to know…

Feeling like a naughty schoolboy and guilty despite his own rationalizations, he undressed, crawled under his sheets and took a comfortable position on his side. Not even a minute later he was standing, or floating –whatever- in the middle of the room.

He stared back at his own body. It really did look like he was sleeping peacefully.

A quick peek into the hallway told him that Genma wasn't nearby. Maybe he was patrolling the grounds.

It took Iruka only seconds the move out of the house, straight through the wall. He went passed the traps that guarded the compound and then took the direction that led away from the village and into the surrounding forests. The chances of him learning something out here that was considered classified were minimal and his guilt eased a little. He would just have a pleasant day, avoiding death by boredom until Kakashi or Pakkun returned.

Iruka drifted around contentedly, looking at squirrels, mice and birds, who normally would never allow anyone to get that close to them. He hadn't really paid attention to how far he'd gotten when he suddenly noticed it. Or rather a _lack _of it. A lack of _life_.

When he drifted a little further he saw it.

A scorched patch of earth, roughly man-sized, still smoking and with some small drops of molten metal dotting the black soil.

Someone had been 'dealt with' here, but by whom? Had a Konoha ninja gotten rid of the remains of an enemy? Or had an enemy gotten rid of a Konoha ninja? There was no way to tell.

He would have to report this. But how? He hadn't been paying very much attention to his direction and the distance he'd travelled, moving this way and that way, following whatever creature caught his attention. He wasn't close to any path as far as he knew. He had no way to mark this location and he'd left no trails his fellow ninja could follow. If he retreated into his body he would move back too fast to be able to give anyone an accurate description of how to find this place.

Then he had a thought and he almost kicked himself for not thinking of it before. With a thought he moved up, going higher and higher through the trees until he rose above them.

He kept moving up until he could see the village to the east and the shimmering of the river closer by. He judged the distance and looked around for any other landmarks nearby. There was a clearing in the trees some 200 yards to the north of where he was. It wasn't the clearest description, but it would have to do.

He concentrated fiercely on the feel of his body and as he was pulled back into it he prayed he wouldn't collapse immediately.

Iruka opened his eyes and felt relief. Even though he was tired, perhaps even exhausted, he was nowhere near collapsing this time.

He got up hurriedly and went for the door. It was locked of course and he nearly punched it in frustration. "Genma!" He called out loudly.

_No answer_.

"Genma! Are you there?" He banged on the door. "Hey, is anyone out there? I need to speak to the Hokage! It's urgent! Genma!"

It was no use, nobody was answering. Iruka looked at the door. He could kick it in of course, but he had no idea if it was booby trapped. Just because _he_ wasn't a regular prisoner didn't mean the room wasn't equipped to deal with them.

He walked to the window, looking out to all sides, trying to spot a guard, someone who's attention he could get. After a few minutes he was about to give up when he spotted someone at the edge of the compound. He was about to bang on the glass when his instincts kicked in.

Within the blink of eye he was crouched beneath the window, hand reaching for a weapon that wasn't there. He breathed soundlessly wondering why his gut was churning and why he'd ducked when he really needed to talk to a guard.

Slowly the reasons registered in his mind. He didn't recognise the man. This in itself didn't mean much. Konoha was large and although Iruka knew many people he couldn't claim to know them all. But the man was looking around in the way that shows you don't know your surroundings well enough to move around comfortably, and that was strange for a guard. Also, the guy was holding a senbon, like the ones Genma carried everywhere, and Genma hadn't been at his post when Iruka had called for him, or earlier when he'd left to explore the forest.

Guilt flashed through him. What if Genma had been hurt or killed, while Iruka was out gallivanting though the forest? After Kakashi's training to make him immune to sound, he wouldn't even have heard Genma's screams if he'd been slaughtered right outside the door. Genma could have called for help, and it would have been futile…

Again Iruka's hand twitched at his hip, wanting a weapon of some kind. He scanned the room quickly, but there was nothing he could as a weapon. Unless…

With a quick roll he moved across the room, and reached for the handle of the bathroom door. He opened it as slowly as he could, cursing the squeaking sound the door made. Once it was opened wide enough to let him through, he slipped inside. He left the door open to avoid making more noise and to make sure he could hear any sounds coming from the other room or the hallway.

The mirror was fixed tightly to the wall. There was no way he could pull it off without breaking it, so it would be easier and hopefully quieter to break it where it hung. Using towels to muffle the noise and catch the shards, he put his hand in the middle and exerted pressure until he felt it crack.

Two shards were the right size and shape for him to use as rudimentary weapons. With his hands wrapped in cloth to protect them, he firmly clutched the shards and stood in the corner behind the door. Now he could only wait.

Then a thought occurred to him. _Where was Kuma?_

* * *

AN: Ummm, no. I haven't died. Life just got in the way. Sorry :(


	13. Chapter 13

Iruka held his makeshift weapons tightly and breathed silently. There were really only a few possibilities. Kuma could be sleeping underneath the bed, or in the closet. Neither was an unusual occurrence, and neither would be a problem as long as the cat stayed asleep and didn't come looking for Iruka.

Another possibility was that someone had been in the room while Iruka was 'out' and Kuma had slipped out of the room.

Maybe Genma had come back to check on him and hadn't paid attention to the cat. But, Genma being a jounin, it was unlikely that he wouldn't notice Kuma escaping. Of course it wasn't entirely outside the realm of possibilities that Genma had let Kuma escape on purpose.

Iruka concentrated, trying to hear his cat. He needed more information but he didn't want to leave the bathroom again, if only-

Iruka nearly slapped himself on the head. He _could_ look around. Quite easily even, without any danger of being detected. He just needed to do it in a way that had him ready to move instantly when he re-entered his body.

The best thing would be if he could remain standing, but he'd never tried that before and he had no clue whether his body could hold that position without his own conscious guidance. If he fell over while holding his weapons he could injure himself.

Finally he decided on a compromise. He slid down with his back against the wall until he was sitting on his haunches, hands and weapons resting on his lap.

He closed his eyes and concentrated. It took him longer than usual but after a few minutes he was able to leave his body. He couldn't help but feel proud. Even now, with his body on full alert he was able to clear his mind.

First he went to the window quickly peeking out before ducking down again. Then he laughed at himself. He was invisible, there was no need to hide. _Old habits die hard_.

The stranger he'd seen earlier was no longer in sight. So either he'd moved to another part of the compound or he'd entered one of the buildings.

Iruka decided to venture out into the hallway next. The hallway, for now at least, was deserted too. Iruka pulled back. The temptation to move further down the hallway was big, but for all he knew someone could break the window and come in that way. If Iruka was down the hallway when that happened, he wouldn't notice a thing before it was too late.

This was the first time that Iruka had used his skill for anything other than playing and training. And only now he truly realized how limited his skill was without a partner. When he was in a dangerous situation with a real threat to his safety, he didn't dare leave his body for more than a few seconds at a time.

Only a fellow ninja whose intentions and skills he could trust without a shadow of a doubt would enable him to make full use it. Maybe for his mom, that partner had been his dad. For Iruka, although not exactly by his own choice, it was Kakashi…

But Kakashi wasn't here right now…and that left Iruka in quite a bind.

Inside his room he looked into his closet…nothing. Then he peeked under the bed, and yes, an orange ball of fur was curled up on one of Iruka's used shirts.

For a moment Iruka felt guilty, first of all, for expecting the worst of Genma with no more provocation than an uncomfortable conversation, and secondly, for throwing his dirty laundry under the bed.

He put it out of his mind, and quickly peeked in on his body. He was sitting in the exact same position as before. _No problem there_. Then he looked out the window again. _All clear_. Next he scanned the hallway again for any movement. _Nothing._

Quickly he fell into a routine. Body-Window-Hallway…no movement, start over. It was like being on patrol, except for a much smaller area.

He didn't know how long he'd been at it when suddenly the hallway was no longer empty. He recognised the man he'd seen outside. He had a Konoha hitai-ate tied around his neck. Did that mean he was a Konoha shinobi, or had he taken it from a Konoha shinobi? The man made a couple of hand seals and touched the door in two specific places and then he reached for the handle.

Time was running out. Iruka concentrated fiercely on his body and opened his eyes just as he heard the door to the room open. Ignoring his aching he knees he rose silently, holding the shards ready for attack.

"Umino-san?"

How did that man know his name? Was there any point in not replying? The man would look inside the bathroom anyway.

"Umino-san, are you in the bathroom?"

"Yes, excuse me," Iruka said, trying to keep the tension from his voice.

"I have your lunch. I'll put it out here. Genma-san said to tell you he'll be back for tomorrow's morning shift."

Iruka blinked and slowly lowered his weapons. "Thank you?"

"No problem." The door clicked shut.

That was it? Simply a change of guards? But he hadn't recognised the man, even from up close. He knew he wouldn't be able to recognise every Konoha ninja at a distance but he'd looked the man right in the face just now in the hallway and he felt no recognition at all. Shouldn't he have seen all Konoha ninja's at least once in his life. At the mission desk or simply on the street? Still, it was possible that he-

'mreow'

Iruka raised his weapons back up. That was Kuma's 'hello' meow. There was still someone in the room.

Two seconds later the bathroom door swung open with a loud squeak and Iruka moved.

He recognised the white hair a millisecond too late to stop the slashing motion he'd made with the mirror shard.

Kakashi moved with lightening speed and within moments he had Iruka with his back against the wall, and his wrists above his head in the jounin's tight grip. "Iruka-sensei, what are you doing?" The jounin asked pleasantly.

Iruka breathed deeply. His heart was still pounding in his chest. With a deep sigh he finally muttered, "I'm really glad you're here."

Kakashi squeezed Iruka's wrists tighter for a moment before releasing them. "I can tell."

Iruka lowered his aching arms slowly, dropping the shards in the washbasin. "I'm sorry. It's just- There was a change of guard and I didn't know the guy and I saw something weird in the forest and Genma wasn't there when I called for him and-"

Kakashi's finger tapped against Iruka's lips, silencing him. 'Stay here,' he mouthed.

Iruka nodded and watched as the jounin lifted his hitai-ate to reveal his sharingan eye before teleporting away. He picked his shards back up and stood there for a moment before chancing a look out into the rest of his room. A lunch tray was standing near the door and Kuma was eating his salmon.

Iruka sighed and rubbed his head. He didn't know _what_ was going on anymore.

* * *

Hi guys. Sorry, this one is even shorter than the last one, but it felt like a good place to stop. I'm working on the next chapter. Everyone thanks for reviewing.


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